


A Jak Story : When Trust is Broken

by Angelprincess01



Category: Jak and Daxter
Genre: Action/Adventure, Comedy, F/M, Romance, Romantic Comedy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-01-23
Updated: 2017-01-22
Packaged: 2018-01-09 19:00:40
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 55
Words: 180,586
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1149642
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Angelprincess01/pseuds/Angelprincess01
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Jak escaped, he didn't expect to meet another person with just the same problems as him. Seemingly perky , Valentine might be the only one in Haven City that truly can connect with what he has been through. But trusting someone, anyone, can be pretty hard after going through what they did. As Jak and Valentine get to know each other better, they'll soon find out if it's possible to have a life with Dark Eco or not.</p><p>Jak, Dax and all of the others of course belong to good old Naughty Dog, with the exception of my OC's. Those are, as the 'my' would suggest, my own creation.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Meet Your Partner

|Outskirts, Initiation Mission|

Torn watched the newest hopeful climbing the tower towards the Baron's flag from the sideline. Truth be told, he had already accepted the fact that he would have to allow this Jak to be a member of the Underground. The guy had been injected with Dark Eco and survived. That was something which only person before him had been capable off. Now that he thought about it, he should give her a call just in case.

He pulled out a communicator, putting it in his ear as he found the switch. The device beeped a bit, alerting him it was seeking connection. A click sounded before a voice he knew well after two years rang through without a hint of static.

"Hello, DE – Girl speaking," A young woman spoke up sounding chipper. She pronounced her name like 'Dee – Girl'.

"Valentine, it's me." Torn replied, not bothering to say his name. Valentine should recognize his voice. At once she replied to him, sounding frustrated.

"Boss, I told you to call me DE – Girl when we're on the phone. Someone could be tapping the lines." Torn kept looking up towards Jak, who was nearing the top of the tower.

"Nobody could've tapped this line if you did your work properly. Don't tell me you were slacking off again?" he said, pretending to be annoyed. At once the girl huffed.

"Of course not! I mean, there were a few hitches in the last programs I wrote for you, but it wasn't a huge disaster. Anyway, what'cha calling me for?"

Torn tried to think of a way to break it softly to her. After all these years of being the only one being infected by Dark Eco… how would she react to there being another survivor? Though she always put on the cheery façade, he had seen the real her, in more than one way. "Well…" he started, his voice trailing off.

"Boss, don't make me drag it out of you!" she warned. He could already imagine her waving her finger at him.

"Valentine… There's another Dark Warrior."

"…"

"Valentine?"

"Where is this person now?" she asked him, the playful tone in her voice gone.

"I'm watching him at this moment. He's doing the initiate test, and he's blazing through it like a storm, a lot better than you did at the time. Couldn't let him think he'd get in so easy, right?" he said, leaning against one of the crumbling walls that belonged to the ruins.

"I guess not. I'm coming over to headquarters. Do not let him out of your sight." Her tone of voice insinuated she expected Torn to somehow 'lose' the newbie. Even though she was a part of the Underground, there were more aspects to their friendship Putting on a playful face only worked around the people that knew her as DE – Girl. The people that knew her as Valentine knew more about her serious side than they sometimes wished to know.  
"See you there, Valentine."

She broke the connection, leaving Torn alone on the line. She hadn't even bothered to say goodbye. Not that it mattered, the news he had just given her probably wracked up unwanted memories. He was rudely interrupted in his murmuring when the tower started crumbling.

He couldn't believe his eyes. This guy was ripping the tower apart, sliding down long – forgotten ropes as his Ottsel friend straggled behind him. How the guy did it would have been a riddle to Torn if he hadn't already known a person injected with Dark Eco gained better reflexes than most people. And they got an anger management problem to boot.

"I guess you're in." he commented to the gloating Jak in front of him, who gripped the flag tightly in his fist. He seemed to be feeling slightly better. It was like that with Valentine too. As long as she didn't have time to think she felt okay. It was when she was able to focus on the pain in her body that the anger rose.  
"Well, come with me. I have someone you need to meet."

Jak blinked, seemingly surprised at that. "Who then?" 

Torn grinned in a rare show of emotion to a newbie. "Your partner. And I'm not looking forward to your first meeting."

He was probably an idiot for bringing two people with rage problems together but he didn't have any better options.

|The Hideout|

Valentine paced around the small desk that belonged to Torn. It was littered with plans of attack, various weaponry manuals and loose shells from guns that didn't work anymore. Below it all was a map of Haven and its surroundings. She looked at the palace depicted on it, a disgusted sneer on her face.

_A dark, damp room. The rattling of handcuffs and the stench of decrepit cells still soiled with whatever remained of the previous inhabitant. The screams of yet another victim falling prey to Praxis' endless search for the perfect warrior. And the cold, searing her veins, leaving her no escape but binding her in her own body, an endless prison of agony…_

She shook her head. That was a past she didn't need to revisit. She bit her thumbnail as she resisted the urge to kick the chair as a way to relieve her inner pain. 'What am I supposed to say to such a person? 'Hi, my name's Valentine and I love romantic movies, walks on the beach and, oh yeah, I'm infected by Dark Eco, just like you!' That didn't sound intelligent even in her own head.

It was the waiting that was the worst part. She needed to be out there, doing something! Anything that would distract her. She sat down on the desk, looking at the wig she had thrown after entering the hideout. Seeing as how the Krimzon guards were still looking for her, even after four years, wearing a disguise was pretty much the only way to get around the city.

"Wonder what he looks like…" she said, looking up at the ceiling. She didn't even have the slightest clue about what she had to expect. "Torn could at least given me some hints." She scowled at the ceiling, annoyed at the long wait.

The door that secured the headquarters zoomed open, the heavy stone wall grinding on the rails beneath it. She looked up, eager to see another one like her. Somebody who had survived. Torn was the first to come down, walking down the steps with an air like he owned the place. Which wasn't too far from the truth either.

And behind him was a blond – haired man who couldn't be a year older than herself, sporting a goatee and looking like he hadn't seen the light of day in years. It had to be him, no doubt about that. As their eyes met, she imagined could see the rage of the Dark Eco in his eyes. The eye contact sent a shiver through her spine.

A furry, small and orange creature leaped from his shoulder towards the desk where she was sitting. It smoothed its hair down, grinning at her. "Well, hellow to you, my dear comrade in arms," He said in what he probably considered to be a suave tone of voice.

She picked the creature up around its middle. "Your physiology is incredible." She remarked, looking him up and down.

The creature grinned at that. "Why thank you! May I say, yours isn't too shabby either."

Valentine ignored what he said, putting him on the table to check his tail. "You can speak, have the tail of an otter but the body build of a weasel. What are you?"

The creature turned around, scratching its ears. "Well, I used to be human, but when I fell into a pool of Dark Eco I got turned into an Ottsel. My name's Daxter, and my buddy over there is Jak."

Valentine looked at 'the buddy', the curve of a smile on her face. "Jak… my name is Valentine."

Jak looked at her, not really able to figure out what he should say to a person who sounded so gentle. This was the first actual introduction he had to someone in two long years. And the first in his life where he could actually reply to someone. Torn interrupted the introductions, taking lead of the conversation.

"Valentine is one of the key members of our organization. She's one of the best hackers we have in the Underground. Other than that, she also goes through life as 'DE – Girl', one of Haven's third-rate idols. And…"

Torn threw the girl he was talking to a short glance. Valentine seemed rather disgruntled at being called third-rate, but that was as good as it got in this city. "… she's also the only other known person to have survived the Baron's Dark Eco experiments for longer than a year."

Jak turned his eyes on the girl, seeing her in a new light. Was there, behind that seemingly happy exterior a person felt the same pain as he was at that moment? Valentine cocked her head at him, the hint of a smirk on her face.

"Well, it's nice of you to introduce us to one another Torn, but I do believe you're forgetting one important thing." She said, jumping of the desk and walking towards Jak.

Torn looked at her in confusion, not seeing where she was going. "That would be?"

Valentine gave Jak a pat on the back. "This poor guy hasn't even had the chance to rest up a tad and you're already having him running up and down the place. I don't doubt you already have a mission planned for him, don't ya?"

Torn shrugged. "What if I had? That's the way I handled living with you, isn't it?"

Valentine rolled her eyes. "Yes and see how I turned out? It's a miracle I didn't end up as grumpy as you." She was one of the few people Torn could act amicable with as long as she didn't push it. In front of two new recruits he didn't feel like losing face.

"Well then, Valentine, why don't you take your new partner with you and get him in working order. You of all people probably know best how to deal with this kind of thing."

"Was that a compliment, Torn?" she asked, before she dragged Jak away, up the steps. Torn didn't have the time to react, instead snarling at Daxter, who hurried off after his buddy.

When they got outside, Jak finally had the opportunity to talk to this strange new person. Friend or foe, he wasn't sure of it, but he intended to find out. "Are you really infected with Dark Eco?" he asked her when she started hotwiring a parked Hover bike.

Valentine looked at him in surprise. "What makes you doubt that?"

"Well, you're awfully… perky, for someone who's infected," He said, for lack of a better word on how to describe her attitude. She frowned when she heard that, putting the long, purple wig on her head. She flipped the twin tails back with a smooth gesture.

"You want proof? Well, I can't go psycho around here. But since you're asking so nicely…" she ran her finger across a small blade she kept in her belt. The blood flowing from her finger emitted a single purplish black spark before she pressed her thumb against the keyhole on the Hover bike. It started with a smooth hum.

"That's a trick you might find useful. Since the Baron pumped us full of Eco, we might as well be walking batteries. Now, can you drive a Zoomer?" she asked him.

Jak gave her an incredulous look. "What, you can't? But… shouldn't you be able to?"

"Well, I can't. And besides, I've been looking for a good chauffeur. I had to fire the last one because he kept getting us late every single time. If my partner can be my chauffeur, we already have a good cover for you."

Jak frowned at her. "You're kidding right? You're probably just as high on the Baron's wish list as I am."

She showed him a grin, getting on the back seat of the bike. "Valentine is, but DE – Girl is a great cover. If I tell the guards to beat it, they'll think I'm a minor star with a huge attitude problem. If we're lucky their girlfriends love my music and they'll ask an autograph. Now, less yapping and more driving, partner."

|Valentine's Home|

She pressed her palm against the touch plate, letting it read her fingerprints. The door beeped, opening up. Once they were inside, two sentry guns pointed at Jak and Daxter. Daxter screamed, throwing his hands up in the air. "AAAAAAAH!"

"Oh right!" Valentine said. "Computer, code 4zef!" at once the sentry guns retreated back in the ground. "Sorry about that. When the Baron's after you, you tend to get paranoid."

Daxter plopped on the ground, not looking pleased. "Paranoid? That's more like freaking insane, if you ask me! What the hell were you thinking, installing that shit in your house?"

Valentine pressed a finger against her lips, smiling. "Well, I do often have important people staying here. But since you and Jak will be living here with me for a while, I'll add you guys to the 'entry permitted at all times' list. That way you won't have to worry about the guns or other defense mechanisms."

"How many defense things do you have in this house?" Jak asked, looked around suspiciously.

Valentine shrugged. "Enough to keep me safe. I'm a hacker, not a fighter. Occasionally I'll dabble in things like finding a cure for Dark Eco, not that it's been easy. If they ever break in here, I would be as defenseless as a yakow calf. Anyhow, I'm going to prepare dinner. Jak… how does meat sound for a change?"

Jak missed a step when she said that. "Meat?" He couldn't remember the taste of it. All he had ever gotten while being imprisoned was a kind of gray, wiry gruel. "Meat sounds great!"

"Thought so. You go take a shower, you don't want to know how much dirt is going to come off. Daxter and I will do the cooking."

"Oooooh, so you're looking for some alone time with me, is that it?" Daxter asked, giving her a wink.

Valentine rolled her eyes. "Sure, that's it. Sorry Daxter, I don't do dates outside my own species," She replied, picking him up by the neck and taking him with her.

"That's what you're saying now sweetie, but once you get a taste of Dax you'll never want anything else," He said, squirming loose and climbing to her shoulder.

She flipped his nose before pointing to a shower. "There's the shower, partner. See you in a few."

|Half an Hour Later|

Jak walked out of the shower, clean for the first time in forever. Valentine had been right, the amount of dirt he'd rubbed off had been something for the record books. He felt a little better, but the Eco inside of him still made him want to hurt something, or scream. He walked further in the house, reaching the kitchen which was sparklingly clean.

Valentine and Daxter were singing together while putting the plates on the table. The song was rowdy, blaring from the radio in a corner of the kitchen. She was no longer wearing the wig, her long dark brown hair flowing down her back as she flipped a thick steak on a plate, yelling part of the chorus to Daxter, who yelled it back just as loud.

"What the heck are you two doing?" he asked. Were they getting in a fight? He had only been gone for a half hour. They stopped their singing, looking at Jak. Valentine reached behind her, turning off the radio.

"Ah, that was a song from the one of the most popular bands on the teen station." She explained, scratching the back of her head. "It's a pretty good stress reliever, and Daxter liked it too, so we thought we could sing a little. Anyhow, food's ready, so dig in."

Jak plopped on his chair, attacking the steak on his plate with knife and fork. He rolled his eyes. "This is soooo…" he didn't finish his sentence, stuffing more in his mouth. Valentine ignored this behavior knowing she had been just as bad, if not worse, the first time she had gotten a decent meal after having escaped.  
Daxter ate with his hands, not being able to handle the utensils as well as he probably wished.

An uncomfortable silence fell across the table as they ate. Still, it was to be expected. Valentine wondered on how she and Jak would end up interacting once he had settled down. There was no doubt they would be spending a lot of time together, Torn always sent her along with new recruits when it was necessary. Though she wasn't much of a fighter, her 'Dark' mode was usually enough to handle a few Metal Heads or Krimzon guards.

The question was, would Torn permanently team her up with this blond stranger, or have them both work solo? Being separated from the only person who went through the same things she was felt wrong. Even if she couldn't open up to him at this point he didn't have the luxury either. They would need to learn to trust each other.

Trust… that was something both of them would have problems with.


	2. Guardians of Mar

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jak learns a bit more about Valentine's family, and Valetine goes to pick up the Kid who really seems to be getting along with her.

|Outside of the city|

"Ugh, I hate Metalheads!" Valentine complained, kicking a Metal Scorpion that had gotten too close to her. The creature let out a screeching sound as it described a perfect arch before plopping in the ocean. "Stupid critters, always getting too close… Ever hear of private space?" she yelled to yet another scorpion, sending it flying after its buddy.

"Valentine." Jak's masculine voice sounded behind her. "Come on up here, they'll just keep coming." He said, holding out his hand so he could pull her up on the ridge.

She sighed, knowing her new partner was right. She jumped up, grabbing his hand. A small spark jumped from Jake to her, glowing a dark purple in the early morning light. Even if the pain would have crippled a normal person, to them it was more like a light tingle. The sparks appeared sometimes and Jak had accepted them as proof of Valentine's infection.

"You'd think the Baron would want to keep the way to important things like water valves safe!" Daxter commented, jumping from Jak's shoulder to Valentine's so he could peer to the Metal scorpions that had once again come up from the ground beneath them.

Valentine's face took on a grim look when she thought about the Metal Heads they had encountered. "I doubt Praxis is aware of the gravity of the situation. I installed communicators last time I was in the Intel station. The soldiers are lying to Praxis as much as he is lying to them. Every time they end up in a fight with Metalheads they lie about the quantities and casualties, out of fear Praxis will use them as the next guinea pig."

Jak lifted her up so she could reach the next ridge, pushing her up by her feet until she was up there. She held out her hand, so he could grab it and get up as well. He ignored it, running up the wall in part, grabbing the ridge's edge just in time. As he pulled himself up, Valentine grinned. "Showoff," She commented.

Jak grinned at her, pointing at the valve station to their left. She nodded, letting Daxter drop to the ground as they walked up closer. "And besides, the Metal Heads even have their use for him. People from the Underground end up being assaulted by them on the way to various assignments." She looked around, enjoying the panoramic view. Even in the pale sunlight she could easily spot at least three groups of Metal Heads scurrying around.

"According to Uncle Vin, a lot of fishy things have been going on with the Eco supply. Not just because of Praxis' experiments. There's been something else going on and it's not in the best interest of the city."

"You have an uncle?" Jak asked, interested in learning more about his new partner. It was still too soon to call her a friend after knowing her for a mere half day. Still, so far she had proven to be reliable. "What about parents?" he asked her, trying not to sound too eager.

Daxter had in the meantime tried to turn the valve to no avail. Valentine and Jak rested against the pipes. "My parents… they got killed while trying to protect the previous leader of the city at the time that Praxis took over. My family has always been in service of the King's family…"

She banged a fist to her heart, taking on a stand as if taking a pledge. "Until the day we die, we shall serve. Our lives before theirs, our hearts with compassion and resolve. We shall not rest in our duty as they shall not rest in theirs."

She dropped back casually against the pipes, sharing a glance with Jak. "Anyhow, after I escaped Uncle Vin raised me. He's not much of a fighter but his heart is in the right place and he knows where his loyalty should be. After Praxis' soldiers took me away he risked being caught too. He ended up working for Praxis in exchange for my life."

She smiled at the sky, her mind wandering to the past. "I wonder if he would have done it, knowing what I had to go through at the same time. Eh… Daxter, you need help with that?" she asked the Ottsel, who kept trying to get the valve to move. Jak banged on the pipe, letting the valve turn loose suddenly. Daxter screeched when he was sucked in a vent.

Jak grabbed her by the arm, pointing down to the water. "Time for a shortcut. Can you swim?"

Valentine nodded but before she opened her mouth to say she'd rather not Jak already jumped down, taking her with him. With a splash they landed in the water, coughing and wheezing when they broke to the surface. Would it have killed him to look before he jumped? "This is dangerous! Who knows what's hiding in the water?"

"C'mon, this way" Jak said, guiding Valentine towards the shore. She swam behind him and wondered where he found the courage to take risks like that. If it had been up to her she would have analyzed their odds of survival first. They got up on the shore and Valentine started squeezing water from her hair. "I hate swimming. Daxter better be grateful, my hair will take ages to dry up."

Jak didn't reply, walking towards the smaller valve where Daxter was stuck. "Daxter, are you in there?" he asked, listening for a reply. Some gurgling sounds came out of the pipe, leading them to assume Daxter was in there. Jak turned the valve, sending Daxter flying out, catapulted by the force of the water.

Valentine caught him in mid – air, sounding relieved when she spoke. "Daxter, there you are. Are you okay?" she asked him.

Daxter shook his head, spitting water out before speaking and pointing at Jak. "Don't say it! Not a word. Not even a chuckle. Next time, you turn the valve."

Valentine's mouth started to quiver with withheld laughter. When she looked at Jak she saw the corner of his mouth quiver. With the eye contact they lost any self control they could have boasted and burst out in laughter. Daxter rolled his eyes, letting himself relax in Valentine's arms. "Seriously you guys… it's not that funny."

|Back in the hideout|

"No way am I going in Praxis' fort while I'm dripping wet." Valentine rejected the mission at once when she heard what Torn wanted.

Torn facepalmed, wondering why he always ended up having to soothe Valentine every time her hormones were running rampant. True, he had not seen Jak that much yet, but the guy seemed to be more stable than Valentine was. "You're not even that wet anymore, just a little damp." He told her. Valentine shot him a glare when he said that.

"Whatever. Can't we go home before we get ourselves sick and bedridden for two whole weeks?"

"Now you're just exaggerating." Torn said, wishing he hadn't called Valentine in today. It was rare for her to have a whole day of, and he wanted to take advantage of it to give Jak all the training he could. Valentine started to open her mouth again when suddenly Jak put his hand on her shoulder. She paused, looking at her partner.

"Listen Valentine. Me and Daxter can go alone if you don't want to. It's important that I see the Shadow as quickly as possible, so the more missions I can take to make this go faster, the better."

Torn let out a sigh, seeing that it would end up with Jak going on his own. Valentine paused, not exactly comfortable having to let him go on his own. She opened her mouth to speak when Torn interrupted her. "Fine, Valentine, you go home and dry up a bit. If you're going to sit home you might as well keep playing nanny to the Kid. Just go to the pick – up point in about an hour or so, I'll have someone pick you up."

Valentine made a 'tsss' – sound while thinking, looking at Jak. Daxter noticed, and jumped over to her shoulder again. "Listen toots, me and my buddy can take care of ourselves. Have I ever told you about the time we rode a Hover bike through a searing hot canyon, filled with lava and Lurkers? Or about the time that –"

Torn clasped his hand around Daxter's head, shutting off the endless stream of words coming from the animal's mouth. He gave Jak and Valentine a hard look. The two froze up, straightening their backs without even realizing they were doing it.

'There's a reason that the Krimzon guard used to be able to make Metal Heads turn tail… when Torn left, Praxis must've been ready to rip out his mustache…' Valentine mused to herself, not being able to meet the former General's strict gaze. Whenever he did that she always got the urge to confess every minor mistake she had made in her life. Not that there had been many being imprisoned for the better part of puberty.

Jak grabbed Daxter, pulling him out of Torn's iron grip. Though he said nothing he was obviously unhappy with how Torn treated him. For a moment their eyes met and Valentine imagined there was a flicker of understanding between them. The idea was most likely just wishful thinking from her part. She wondered what Jak saw when he looked in her dark blue eyes.

"I'll see you tonight… Okay?" Her new partner asked, letting go of Daxter so the creature could climb to his usual spot.

Valentine nodded. Did Jak get the same sensation she had at the moment, as if the Eco was turning their stomach in intricate knots at every breath? 

"I'll see you tonight, partner! Just be sure they don't catch you, okay?" she said, sounding slightly worried.  
He nodded, still holding Daxter in such a way that the Otsel wasn't able to speak. "As if Praxis's soldier have got anything against me! See you!" he walked off, leaving Valentine and Torn behind.

|The Streets|

"Hey kiddo, how are you doing?" Valentine asked as she walked up to Kor and the Kid. The old man's eye seemed to twitch as she approached but it might have been a passing shadow. The man gave her a nod, and she replied with a smile. Bending over, she scooped the Kid up, holding him in her arms. "How you doing, little prince?" she asked, pressing a finger to his nose. The Kid replied in the sign language they had developed.

~I'm doing okay, but I'm hungry.~

She smiled. "Then we'll get something to eat. How does a nice salad sound? I can get you something else if you prefer."

The young boy thought it over for a second before he replied. ~I would like some ice-cream.~

Valentine chuckled when she saw what he said. Kor let out a sigh, not liking how he did not understand anything the boy said when he was using sign language. It was the only way the child could communicate, but he wished the boy had never learned. If the child happened to see something he wasn't supposed to see, he would probably rush to Valentine. Instead of voicing his concerns he tapped his staff on the ground, drawing their attention. "He's very fond of you, isn't he Valentine?" he said in a conversational tone of voice, attempting to appear as feeble as possible.

"And I am glad for it." She said softly, the kid trailing his fingers through the hairs of her wig. "For my family, who has sworn to protect the House of Mar, this child is the most important thing in this entire world. My life shall go before his so he may fulfill his duty." Her face took on a stronger look as she glared to one of the machines through which the Baron's voice spouted throughout the streets. "The day the world is rid of Praxis shall be the day I will be able to mourn for my family that has died in the battle."

Kor nodded, also a stern look on his face. "I too long for the day the Baron is eradicated from this city so that its true owners may be in charge." He said, looking to the sky of the city, where the faint glimmer of the dark Eco barrier could be seen if one stared intently enough. Valentine followed his gaze for a second before putting the Kid down again. He grabbed her hand with a tiny fist, holding it tightly. One of the first things she had taught him was to never let go of her hand.

"We'll be taking our leave then, Kor. Have a nice day and be careful. Even though I hacked the defense system, you never know when some overenthusiastic programmer wants to upgrade everything he can get his hands on."

Kor let out a sigh for the truth of that. "I know there have been problems because the Baron's been urging his scientists to find out who is messing with his systems. You do realize that if he ever gets his hands on you, he will not be lenient? You'd have better odds surviving with the Metal Heads."

Valentine nodded, dejected at the notion. "As I said, my life before that of any member of the House of Mar. To win this war I'd do better not having problems sacrificing myself. Bye Kor, until next time."

As they walked off, the Kid gestured to her vividly. ~I don't want you to die!~

Valentine nodded and signed back to him. ~I'm not planning no dying, so don't you worry. Let's get you something to eat.~

~Okay.~

|Valentine's Home|

The door zoomed open, letting Jak and Daxter drag themselves in after a long day of hard work. "I. Hate. Robots!" Daxter screamed, kicking a book that was lying on the floor. 'Doesn't Torn know he could get us KILLED out there?' Daxter continued, jumping on the creme-white sofa, grabbing his own tail in frustration.

Valentine came out of the kitchen, wearing reading glasses and holding a big book. "Of course he knows. Torn knows better than anyone every time he sends one of us out we might not make it back. He also knows even more people will die if we don't fight Praxis." She took of her glasses, putting them on a small table next to a vase.

'"Welcome back by the way. I already made dinner so you can dig in. Also, the Kid's here, so let's keep the tantrums to a minimum, okay?'" she said, throwing Daxter a glance. The Otsel fumed and opened his mouth for another snappy comeback. Jak cut him off by throwing a pillow at him. When Daxter got back up he glared at his partner.

"WHAT WAS THAT FOR?" he screamed, pointing an accusing finger at his friend.

Jak chuckled, shrugging. "Valentine said if I wanted to throw something, I should use pillows. It's great when I'm feeling down." He explained, although…

"That's not an answer to my question!" Daxter yelled again, not pleased at the way he was treated.

"Be nice." Jak warned him, starting to like Valentine's company. Though he still wasn't able to fully let his guard down he did enjoy the feeling of being near someone who understood. If Daxter kept yapping away, he might spoil everything. For the first time in years being able to feel safe and at ease was something that he did not want to lose. He wanted to get his revenge on Praxis for what had happened. But maybe getting to relax for a little while wouldn't be so horrible either.


	3. Virtual Battle

|Valentine's Home|

Jak walked around the house, trying to find Valentine. The Kid followed him, obviously curious as to what he planned on doing. Furthermore the child seemed to be interested in Daxter who resided most of his time now on Jak's shoulder, looking at the boy with suspicion.

He could hear her voice, a rhythmic rising and lowering in pitch. Following the sound the Kid sped ahead of him, suddenly understanding what Jak wanted. He pointed towards a door and jumped up to open it. Jak followed and found himself standing in a room like he had never seen before. A disc was spinning as Valentine had a headset pressed against her ear. she seemed focused on listening to the song that was playing, adjusting sliders up and down. 

Jak sensed the meaning behind the words as if they somehow connected with the dark taint that ran throughout his blood and poisoned his body. When the anger struck he couldn't help but see enemies everywhere. He decided he liked the raw music.

Valentine noticed the bunch of them standing in the room. She turned off the music and walked towards them, throwing the headset to the side.  
"See you guys found my recording studio," She said, not sounding annoyed in the least about it. Daxter dropped to the ground, fiddling with some buttons on the nearest machines.

"A recording studio, eh? What'cha doing holed up in here?" he asked her, letting one of the bigger buttons flip around. A sound blast came out of it, blowing the Ottsel to a wall. The others quickly propped their fingers in their ears as Valentine pressed to off-button with her foot.

"Torn already told you I'm kind of a celebrity around here, didn't he?" she asked, rubbing her temples as a sudden headache set in. The music she usually brought was loud, not to say a real assault on the eardrums. "Well, this is where I record most of the time and edit the sound. I prefer doing it here since going outside is always such a risk." Though it was true, at times she did not have a choice since new songs often required her to meet up with her manager and the band. "You know my stage name, right?"

Jak nodded. "DE – girl, right?" he asked, having heard about her from Torn who hadn't seemed very hyped up about it.

"Well, it stands for Dark Eco Girl," She explained, putting away the mike while at the same time keeping an eye on Daxter and the Kid, in case either of them was up to no good. 'Nobody's been smart enough to figure that one out yet.'

Jak chuckled. He hadn't realized it either but he wasn't planning on admitting that just now. He leant back against a wall after checking there weren't any hidden buttons that might bombard him with sound waves. "Why do you do it? Isn't it safer to just lay low and work with the Underground?" he asked, curious about her motives.

Valentine dropped backwards in a rotating chair, slowly spinning circles in it as she talked. "Well, let me think. First of all, because I work as a singer, I have my own place and I don't have to live in Headquarters. Secondly, I can donate the leftover funds I have to the Underground. Thirdly, the best place to hide is right under the Baron's nose, especially now I've hacked the system and set all the computers to ignore not only my face but that of any Underground member. And fourthly… to create an opportunity.'

"Opportunity?" Jak asked, leaning slightly forward. 

"Yes," Valentine answered, stretching out in her chair. "Praxis can't afford to lose the approval of the citizens, and so he is forced to like whatever they like. In this case he would have to like me if I get more popular. Sooner or later he is going to have to ask 'DE – girl' to perform at a social event. With a little luck, I'll be close enough to kill him. Even if I don't get close enough the first time, he will keep on inviting me until he lowers down his guard once. I only need to succeed once, so it doesn't matter how long I have to wait before that time."

Jak frowned, thinking her plan over. "Even if you say that, you yourself said you're not a fighter. You're a hacker. It could get you killed."

Valentine nodded. "I know that," She said, more to herself that as a response to him. "Because my parents died so soon, I only had Uncle Vin to teach me the things I need to survive. Uncle isn't suited towards any fighting, so instead he had me working with computers. I'm as good as him which has been a blessing. So even if I have the chance I will probably die when I kill Praxis."

She smiled at Jak, the kind of smile one would give when they're in pain but they try to hide it. "But that's alright, you know? Because that would mean that the people here would be free and the true ruler of the city can come back to his rightful place. If I can accomplish this goal I can die happily.

Jak's frowned as if he felt a sudden surge of anger at the statement. "What the hell are you saying!" he shouted. Valentine's eyes grew bigger as he said that. She recognized the Eco anger when she saw it. "I'm just saying that –"

"You're saying you won't mind dying just because some other people can live happily then? Well, I'm planning on killing Praxis, and I won't die when I do so because I still want to be able to enjoy my life afterward. And I'm not letting you kill yourself for something like this!"

"Jak…"

"No! The reason Torn teamed us up is because we are able to work together and correct each other's flaws, right? I'll do the fighting, and you can do the thinking. That way, nobody will have to die, and I won't to lose my partner."

The corners of her mouth curled up as she thought about what he had said. "If you say it like that… I'll do my best, since you called me partner and meant it." She said, feeling unexpectedly good.  
Jak blinked, taken aback by her smile. "Well, that's… We are partners, so I… anyway, Torn wanted to see us. He's got another assignment for us."

|The Hideout|

"The demolition duo has returned! One ammo BBQ, served up hot!" Daxter announced himself and Jak to Torn, it being the first time seeing the man after their last mission. Torn rolled his eyes before trying to swipe the animal of his cluttered desk. Instead of the orange fur ball he only managed to wipe of some empty ammo shells.

"We saw something strange when we were there," Jak said in a brave attempt to drown Daxter's yapping out. "There were Metal Heads in the city and the Baron was giving them Eco!" 

Valentine nearly missed a step when she heard that. "And you didn't tell me about that? That's pretty vital information!"

"Daxter, Valentine, can the both of you just shut up for a second," Torn said. Although he hadn't raised his voice he still gave off the vibe that he was considering to throw the both of them out if they didn't calm down. The reprimanded twosome sighed before they kept their mouths shut.

"I knew the Baron was up to something fishy, but this is low even for his standards. The city needs that Eco to survive!" Torn said, pacing around while trying to get to the bottom of the situation. "Just happens that I have some Dark Eco ore that's waiting to be shipped to Krew. You guys bring it to him and pump Krew for information while you're there. He's wired into the city, and he he may be in the loop regarding the Baron's plans."

Valentine couldn't contain herself any longer. "That creep! He's just as likely to sell of us to the Baron if we're not careful!" she blurted out, not being able to be in the same room as Krew without her skin starting to crawl in the yucky, 'I'm near a huge creep' kind of way.

Torn banged his fist on the table, sending Valentine a wary look. "Valentine, if you can't obey orders, maybe I should suspend you and get it over with. If you don't want to take this mission you can sit the next three months at home, watching your fingernails grow!" he growled at her, the gravelly quality in his voice nearly tangible.

Valentine let out a low growl too, followed by several dark sparks running over her body. Then she shook her head and took a deep breath. "Fine. We'll go and see Krew. When we get back, you better have something much better waiting for us Boss," She said, regaining her cool slightly. Torn pulled up one corner of his mouth as she said that.

"That time of the month again?" he asked her. Jak blushed, wondering if Torn wasn't getting a tad too personal. 

Valentine rolled her shoulders, trying to relieve stress. "Yeah… haven't been able to let it all out for a few weeks now. I need something with Metal Heads. Like, I need to get the Eco out of my system."

Jak looked at her in wonder. When she caught the look she shrugged. "Come on, partner, I'll tell you about it while we get to Krew's." Torn said nothing as they left but saw them off with obvious worry.

Valentine explained the previous discussion to Jak as they mounted a Zoomer. "Well, I bet you've been experiencing some mood swings lately, right? Well, once the Eco has been in your system for longer you'll be able to control it a little bit better. Still, it needs to be let out." She ran a hand through her wig as she got behind him on the zoomer, laying her hands around his waist. When Jak wasn't able to see her face she allowed herself a frown.

It hurt. A lot. But she hated letting the darkness come out and take over because it always made her feel bad. She didn't like the rage and wanted to keep it inside of her so nobody would ever have to see that side of her. She'd gotten in trouble a lot of times thanks to that tendency. There had been.. incidents in the past. Sometimes serious ones.

Valentine was so caught up in her thoughts she didn't hear Jak's question. She looked over his shoulder and asked him to repeat himself. "Well, I was just wondering…"

|Computer Station Beta|

Jared, the Baron's recent most-trusted programmer, was going through the security files with a languid sigh. There wasn't any reason to do so, he just wanted to check if he could touch up some of the more delicate programs. As he was going through the facial recognition program, he noticed a few codes that seemed...off . Not by much, but they were formulated in a way that suggested somebody besides his colleagues had been working on them.

He opened the file only to be confronted by several pictures of wanted criminals. 'Valentine… Jak… Torn… these are all top targets the Baron is looking for!' Jared realized, as he looked further, seeing more and more faces that he recognized. He adjusted the program, which had been set to 'ignore'. Now it was set on 'full alert' as it should have been. He kept checking the computer program for more anomalies.

|Jak and Valentine|

"ALERT, there they are!" Two soldiers just beneath them yelled as they flew by, shooting at them without delay. Valentine shoved her communicator in her ear, planning on calling Torn. He had beaten her to it , shouting in her ear. "Valentine, somebody cracked your codes! I'm getting calls from people that had their covers blown all over the city!"

"I'm on it boss, give me a few moments!" she yelled back, before searching for her pocket computer in her pockets. "Jak, keep heading south and whatever happens, don't stop!" she yelled, turning on the device.

"What the hell happened?" Jak asked as he dodged a bullet from a pursuing Krimzon vehicle. 

"Somebody found my code, so we're no longer being ignored by the town's security system! I'm fixing it, so keep us out of trouble!"/p>

Daxter screamed in her ear, grabbing on to her shoulder so tightly it hurt. "AAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

|Computer Station Beta|

Jared was updating some minor programs when the screens around him started to flash violently. Everywhere he looked he saw programs glitching and rewritten at an incredible speed. Faster than a thought he grabbed the nearest keyboard, typing as fast as he could. The flood of new data surged through the system, and before he knew it he was in a race with the person who had hacked the system and attempted to rewrite it again. He forced his adversary in a corner on the web, only to have them slip through his virtual fingers. He snarled, attempting to type his way out of the binary equivalent of a 1000 – pound weight dropped on his head.

He managed, barely, but before he escaped one attack he was already being assaulted by another. He launched desperate attacks against the other person, trying to divert their attention. He didn't know what they were planning, but he did know that if he didn't act fast, he'd lose this arms race.

In the entire time he worked for the Baron, not a single person had been able to match his speed when writing programs. Now he was battling someone who was just at fast at thinking them up, and who apparently also had a good deal of hacking experience.  
Sweat seeped down his brow as he attempted to fight this foe , but he could not help but get a growing respect at the same time. 'This grace… those codes…' he thought, not daring to wipe away the dark hair from his forehead in order to see better. He couldn't afford to lose a second of time as he typed.

Suddenly a mail opened in his screen, without him asking for it. Before he could react, it had already covered the entire screen, making his fingers halt their tireless efforts. The letter type was big and swirly, giving the feel of a hand-written message.

'Sorry honey! You tried your best, but I was the top dog. Hurry up and close off your computer, before the date bomb I installed destroys every program you have left! xOxOx'

He paused for a few seconds, but before he had groped for the off-switch, a small bomb had appeared on the deep green screen. All of the security data was wiped out in front of his eyes. He would have to re-write every single code, if the Baron was to keep order. As he brushed the hair away from his deep green eyes, he couldn't help but feel that… he really admired his foe.

|Near Hip Hog Saloon|

"Just park over there Jak." Valentine pointed to a spot right next to the saloon. The package of Eco ore was hidden securely beneath her shirt, in case a guard still got any funny ideas. Jak put the Zoomer on the ground before helping Valentine get off. 

"How'd you do it?" he asked as she put her feet on the ground. Jak's hands around her waist were warm, steadying her before she tripped. "I put a data bomb in the security system. Not the most graceful solution, but I had no other choice. At least the system will now not be bothering the Underground for a few months."

The person who had been on the other side of the web… had been good. So good it was frightening to say the least. They had countered almost all of her programs, and she had to act fast to counter him. Placing the data bomb had been as much skill as it had been luck. Still, now Praxis had the proof he needed that somebody was able to hack his systems. Security would be upgraded, and she would have an even harder time trying to tackle the systems.

With a determined look on her face she swept her hair back, before motioning to the doors of the Hip Hog Saloon. "Let's get in, shall we? This meeting will be unpleasant however long we put it off. Try to hold your breath when Krew is talking to you, and you should be fine. Daxter, behave," She warned the orange critter, who waved her comment away.

"Please, what's the worst that could be waiting behind those doors, after that wild chase?"

"Suit yourself…" she said, walking behind the guys. The feeling of Jak's warm hands was still on her body. She felt a little light in the head, and attributed it to all the action she'd just had.


	4. The Sewers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The trio gets to meet Krew, and Jak obtains his Mod gun. Once they reach the sewers, Valentine find herself forced to use her Eco powers to help Jak.

|Hip Hog Haven|

'I'll handle this one, Jak! Watch and learn.' Before either Jak or Valentine could protest, Daxter had already ducked underneath Sig's legs, going straight for his target. When he did meet Krew eye to eye, he was a little less in a hurry to start talking business, as had been his intention.

'Krew, you're looking well.' Valentine said, standing next to Jak in a way that suggested she was on full alert, and ready to lash out at the fat man when necessary. Krew's eyes glided over Valentine's body as he showed an appreciating grin.

'Valentine! What a rare treat to see you here. Who's the runt?' he asked, only once looking in Jak's direction before returning his attention to the disgruntled woman.

Valentine glanced to Jak once, showing him a quick smile, before turning back to Krew. 'He's my new bodyguard and partner, Jak. You'd better play nice with him Krew, he can be quite dangerous if you piss him off.'

Krew grinded his teeth when he heard that. 'I can be too Valentine. You had better not forget that if you know what's good for you. And what about the rat? The Shadow's mascot of the month I assume?'

'Hey, watch your mouth!' Daxter shouted, before Krew patted him on the head, feeling the quality of his fur. 'Ooooh… soft… this might go well with my silk suits, eh Sig?' Krew asked, already able to envision it in his mind.

'Uh, right…' Jak said, not wholly sure on how to handle a man of Krew's… caliber. 'Look, we brought you the Dark Eco ore, so now we want some info! Why is the Baron handing Eco of to the Metal Heads?' he snarled, resorting to anger in an attempt to get some info. Krew let his carrying machine fly up, outraged at the questions the man dared to ask him.

'Questions like that could get a man killed eh? I don't know if I can trust you either, so I'm going to pass out on this one. Say thanks to Torn for the ores, and he shall have his payment shortly. Now, run off, all of you.'

Valentine frowned, putting a hand on her hip as she resisted the urge to rip the man apart when the Eco tried to persuade her to give in to the anger. 'Krew… got any firearms here? I find myself in need of one, and everybody knows you have the sweetest toys in town.'

Krew raised his eyebrows as he cast Valentine a curious look. 'Firearms… for someone who claims to have solely a scientific interest, this is quite a strange request indeed. Why the sudden interest for them?'

Valentine gestured to Jak with her head. 'I don't need them, but I thought I might upgrade my partner here a bit. Have any mod guns available at the moment?' 

Krew grinned, showing of yellow teeth as he did so. 'Very well, I do happen to have one that was delivered a little while ago. Very touchy merchandise it is too, so you might want to avoid getting caught by the Baron's incompetent guards. Although I can guess the two of you might be having bigger troubles at such a time. What about payment, eh?'

Valentine pulled out a card from her back pocket. 'I've got that covered. Thanks for the business Krew. See you next time.'

Jak caught the gun that Sig threw at him with a pleased grin. As they were starting to walk away, Krew called out after them. 'Actually, if Jak is interested, I might have a job for him. If he's up to the challenge, at least.'

Jak turned around, his curiosity spiked. 'What kind of job are we talking about?' he asked, eying the man with unhidden suspicion. 

Krew let out a short chuckle, pleased with what his bait had landed him. 'Sig needs to bag me some Metal Heads outside of the city. They make for the best leather when it comes to new chairs, and I can't afford to go without. You go with him, and in the meantime I'll tell your partner all she needs to know about the Baron's dirty business.'

Jak glanced at her, not comfortable with the thought that he would have to leave Valentine alone with Krew. But then again, the chance to gain information about the Baron's doings was too good to be true. 'Valentine, what do you think?'

She sighed, shaking her head at that question. 'What do you mean, what do I think? You're the one that's going to go out and face some very vicious Metal Heads while I'll be sitting here on a cozy chair with a drink in my hands. If anyone, I should be the one to ask you if you're up to it.' 

She cast him a smile, touched by his apparent concern.'If you think it's the right thing to do, then go. I'm not about to make any rules about what you can and cannot do.'

Jak grinned, thinking things over. 'Fine, I'll be going out, while you get as much information as you can. This is teamwork too, right?'

Valentine nodded, waving Jak goodbye as he and Daxter left with Sig. When they had left, she turned back to Krew, seemingly a whole lot less cheery.

'Okay Krew. Start talking.'

|Around two hours later|

Jak and Daxter entered the saloon, looking as tired as ever. Sig followed, carrying a big bag that seemed to be leaking blood. As Jak plopped next to her, Valentine couldn't help but noticing blood on his shirt. 

'Jak, are you okay?' she asked, trying to not seem too concerned. Jak glanced down at his blue shirt too, noticing the blood for the first time. 'I'm fine. Some Metal Head got too close, and I ended up splattering half his brain around.' He mumbled, taking the cup that was sitting in front of Valentine, chucking down the contents in one swig.

'Hey, what about me, I'm hurt too!' Daxter yelled, showing Valentine his tail. 'One of those stupid baddies stepped on my tail, and I'm pretty sure it'll be bruising up soon.' He pouted. In the meanwhile, Jak had started coughing violently, getting his throat burnt by the alcohol in the glass. 

'What the hell is this?' he asked, his eyes tearing up.

Valentine suppressed a giggle when she saw his face. 'When you're going to drink something here, it's best to order something that will kill all of the germs in your glass. Krew isn't exactly famous for good hygiene.' She whispered to him, making sure the saloon boss wouldn't hear them.

'Seems like the two of you are getting awfully…. cozy.' Krew commented as he neared them. Valentine frowned when she heard him say that. 'What of it, Krew? If you have a problem with that, you can rest assured that I do not care one bit.' She was quite thankful for the darker atmosphere in the booth where they were sitting though. She suspected she was blushing, and she needed no comments on that.

'You're being awfully snappy, aren't you?' Krew said, pleased to know that he had hit the mark. 'I wonder if you'll be this snappy after you get this little thing done for me ; I need someone to go down in the sewers and take out those blasted sentry guns the Baron installed. It's hard to keep up a smuggling business when every shipment gets blown to smithereens.'

'What's in it for us, tons of fun?' Daxter asked, waving a finger at the big man. Krew practically fumed when he heard that. 'A reward, is that what you want? Well, I can offer you a new mod for that gun you purchased of off me today. You get rid of those sentry guns, and I'll get you that sweet little upgrade, hmm?'

Jak grinned, sitting up at once. 'That sounds like a deal to me. Valentine, let's go!' He grabbed her by the arm, dragging her and Daxter out of the door, of to his next mission. As Valentine took her usual place behind him, she couldn't help but make a small remark. 'It's all good and nice that you're feeling perked up for this mission Jak, but I think you missed out on one little detail here.'

'Which would be?'

'We have to go in the sewers! Do you have any idea how filthy it is in there? Not to mention it's full of bugs and it stinks horribly! My hardware will be ruined if we get in there.' She complained, wishing he had paid better attention before he hurried off so he could earn that promised upgrade.

'It'll be fine. Just trust me.'

|The Sewers|

'Trust you, huh?' she asked, pinching her nose shut as she left her little pocket computer near the entrance. If anything happened to it, she would be hard-pressed to find a new piece of technology that was so finely tuned to her specific needs. 'This place smells worse than that time Krew farted. And that managed to knock out three of his patrons.' She mumbled, following Jak through the dark.

'Krew did what?' Daxter asked, appalled at the idea of such an event. 'There's a reason he doesn't have a large clientele, you know. Not that he needs it, most of his profits have always come from his smuggling activities. He's a dirty, fat bastard, but the Underground needs him.' Valentine concluded with a sigh, before she closed of her mouth again.

'Dammit! I inhaled!' she moaned, doing her best not to shriek at the smell. Jak looked back at the two of them, his scarf bound in front of his mouth so he would have both hands free to operate his gun. 

'Don't be such a wuss, Valentine.' He said, grinning underneath the red cloth. 'I thought you were tougher than this. Now, come on, it's this way.'

Valentine followed with Daxter perched on her shoulder, doing her best not to inhale any more of the foul-smelling air. 'I'm going to need a shower after this one…' she mumbled, not happy about the current situation at all. Jak was far ahead of them, already having taken care of two of the sentry guns. Though effective, they were also very easily shattered to pieces by a well-aimed shot. The Baron also valued his wallet when it came to pricey investments.

'I. Hate. Sewers.' She mumbled, not happy at all when she slipped her foot in some of the dirty water. 'Jak, wait up!' she yelled, just as one of the pathways the man was walking on caved in, sending him down to the ground. 

'JAK!' she ran closer, almost slipping on the wet floor. When she fell to her knees, she peered in the darkness. 'JAK?' she yelled, hoping he hadn't broken anything.

'I'm here.' He replied. He sounded to be closer than she thought, but the darkness could be deceiving her without her realizing it. 'You okay?' she asked, hoping he wasn't hurt.

'I'm fine, really. You and Daxter have to come down here too, okay?' Jak said, trying to sound reassuring. He did a fairly good job, although it wasn't that easy to calm down a freaked out Valentine. 

'Come down there? Did you bump your head? I am NOT, repeat, NOT coming down there. I'd rather go all the way back.'

'There could be more Metal Heads out there, or even just those nasty little bugs. You sure you're up for that? I'm supposed to protect you after all. I can't do that when you're running off.'

Valentine peered down in the darkness. 'It's dark down there, okay? I don't want to jump down… what if I get hurt, or what if I hurt you on my way down? I'd rather stay up here.' She mumbled, squatting down so she could peer a bit closer. She thought she could make out Jak's figure, although she couldn't be sure. The place smelled, and was dark and cold… it reminded her of the cells in the palace. Though she didn't want to admit it, she was scared to death. Now that Jak was separated from her in this way, she felt even less sure. In combination with the Eco in her body, she was feeling more and more miserable every passing second.

Daxter jumped down from her shoulder, moving behind her as Jak tried to persuade her to jump down. When she wasn't paying attention, Daxter jumped, hitting the girl in the back and sending her over the edge. 'Woah!' she yelled, stretching her hands out in an attempt to break her own fall.

She feared coming into contact with the cold floor, but instead was confronted by Jak´s warm body breaking her fall. She heard him gasp as she hit him, his hands closing around her immediately by instinct. Sprawled out on the floor she slowly came to her senses.

´That hurts...´ Jak groaned as he tried to get up. Valentine let out a deep sigh, her body being lifted by the fairly muscled hero. She was facing straight ahead, looking towards they should be going.

What she could see in the dark was the eerie yellow light that was only emitted by Metal Heads. At once she froze up, preparing herself should they be spotted.  
'1,2,3… 8.' She counted, placing a hand on Jak's mouth when he tried to get further up. There were eight of those things, blocking the only way out. 

'Jak… I want you to get up very slowly… and don't make a sound…' she whispered, hoping that he would do what she asked without objecting. There was only one way to defeat all of those, and that would be to give in to the darkness. To become that ugly vicious beast Praxis had put inside her and unleash every last bit of bloodthirsty violence she had inside her.

She crept away from Jak, slowly getting up as she tried to keep her breathing shallow. Jak got up too, finally looking in the way that she was and by the way he gasped she understood that he had seen those things as well. He put a hand on her shoulder, trying to pull her back a bit. She tried to resist, not wanting to be kept back in such a time, even though she couldn't do anything. She wasn't a fighter, but a thinker. She wasn't a fighter… but the thing was. And she had been hurting lately, hurting from all of the pent-up Eco in her body that had no way to go. It was dark in here, which meant she probably wouldn't be getting a better chance. She didn't want her partner to see what kind of monster she was, even if he would understand.

She didn't want Jak to see any more ugly things, least of all the ugliness that resided inside of her. The darkness would help her, keep him blind to her other side so that he wouldn't have to be confronted by it. Just as she reached for Jak's hand to push it away, the worst possible thing happened.

'Well, I thought I'd NEVER get down by my own. If YOU TWO would've minded to help me get down SAFELY, I wouldn't have to-'

'Daxter!' Valentine cried out as the Ottsel's voice echoed around the room. As one being the Metal Heads raised their heads and sniffed the air. In a catlike manner, they positioned themselves to form a sort of tunnel. If they tried to run away, they would be caught in their midst and devoured before they could scream. She shivered when she heard them inhaling the cool air, sniffing out their scents. Before she could say anything, Jak already walked up to them, shooting his gun, keeping them at bay. The animals were smarter, surrounding him, attacking from behind.

She fumed when she saw that. The anger that the Eco had been stirring up inside her flowed in her blood as she felt how her body adapted to it, allowing it faster and easier access. Her heart started to beat faster as she felt strength seep into her muscles, while the darkness plagued her mind into surrender. Valentine ran, feeling the stones beneath her feet as they pounded down. To her eyes, the creatures were too slow to ever stop her. Even so, she was an inexperienced fighter, lashing out whenever she could in an effort to deal damage when she could instead of calculating her decisions. 

They were drawn to her now, the Eco in her blood singing to them in a louder way than the one that resided slumbering in Jak's body. That was what she wanted most right now, hot blood gushing out of still breathing bodies as she ripped away at tender flesh. She could see the carnage in her mind's eye, and her entire system was solely dedicated to that one goal.

One of the bigger ones lunged for her, claws outstretched and aiming for her heart. He was stopped by a bullet of Jak's gun, slamming in his chest and throwing him back, knocking the smallest one out of balance.

'It's not enough…' she thought. The core of her being was not yet completely swallowed by the rage as she noted the creatures movement. She would have to let it all out at once, and hope that the creatures would all be disabled. 

'JAK, GET BACK!' she yelled, hoping he would listen to her. She would give him five seconds. It was more than she could afford, but less than what he needed. She couldn't help it. Jak was new at handling the gun, and he didn't have the experience she had even though he was the better fighter.

The eco pulsated as she focused it all in one hand, slamming it against the nearest Metal Head where the force moved further, knocking all of them back. Together with the eco she also felt the anger slip away, and with it her consciousness. She didn't try to stay awake, knowing that slumber was far better then forcing her body to stay awake now. Jak was strong enough to protect her…

'Valentine, say something! Valentine, stay with me, hey!'

'Jak…'


	5. Meet The Family

|Valentine's Home|

It was dark. For a moment, she didn't know who or what she was, she was only aware of a dark, glowing pain that pulsated in the rest of her being. Thoughts and feelings zoomed past her, but she was unable to grab them and inspect them. Then she felt a more real pain, the kind of pain that only a material could feel. It was located at the back of her head, a dull pounding feeling.

'I must have hit my head… but how?'

She recollected her thoughts about the past events, and remembered Jak holding her as she fainted. Once again she had held on to the Dark Eco for far too long, giving it the chance to ravage her body. She should have learned by now it was better to release it in small doses at a time. It would take her time to recover, precious time the Underground couldn't afford. She had not come to terms with the beast within her… even now it snarled at her, as she slowly regained her consciousness.

'… think she'll be okay?'

That was Daxter's voice. Valentine frowned, since the Otsell was once again talking in her ear with his vaguely annoying voice. She felt someone come closer, and warm hands touched her face. Her heart jumped up at the feeling, and her eyes fluttered open. She had to blink, since she was looking up into the light. Yet, Jak's blue eyes were something she couldn't keep her eyes away from as she forced herself to keep on looking.

'Valentine, are you okay?' he asked, kneeling down besides her. Judging from his position, he had placed her on the sofa in the living room. 

She shook her head, trying to organize the last few jumbling thoughts. 'I'm fine…' she lied, trying to get up. Jak halted her by pushing her down by her shoulder and noticed at once she wasn't in any condition to move.

'No you're not.' He noted, keeping her down. 'What did you do down there?' he asked her, looking her straight in the eyes. She tried to dodge his gaze, but it was in vain. She tried to ignore the warm feeling of his hands on her skin as she replied.

'It… doesn't have a name, really.' She started out, slowly, trying to sort out her thought on the matter. She had never had to explain anything about the Eco in her body, since Torn never breached the subject. It was there, and she had discovered most of it on her own. How it worked and what it did to her body where things she was still not fully clear on.

'I don't like going in my Dark form, so I tend to put it off for as long as I can. Moreover, I'm not a fighting type, so I have less opportunities to unleash the Eco as well. When it builds up… it becomes harder and harder to bear, and it threatens to hurt me even when I unleash it. What I did in the Sewers… you have to control the Eco, and be able to guide it to one part of your body. Once you've been able to do that… you have to force it to only leave from that particular point of your body.' She didn't mention that it hurt even worse than normal fighting when one did that. The Dark Eco ripped away at tender flesh, and in one of the worst moments she had lost flesh from the power of the fading force. Her knuckles had bled for days after, the remainder of the Eco making a fast recovery impossible.

'It looked pretty handy from what I saw.' Jak said, placing a hand to his chin as he thought it over. His blue eyes focused on her, frowning. 'But you should be more careful! If it really hurts that much to keep all of that Eco in, you should just let it out more. You're my partner, and therefore your health is something important to me.'

She blushed under his lecture as he pulled a blanket over her. 'Stay here and don't move. I'm going back to Krew to get our reward. And when I get back, we'll talk over how we can get you some more occasions to release the pressure.'

She nodded, before she frowned in turn. 'Say Jak…'

'Yeah, Valentine?'

'You might want to shower first… you smell like a sewer.' She mumbled, her eyes already falling closed. Jak chuckled, closing the door behind him as he went to take said shower. As she felt her thoughts sink back into darkness, she had one last thought. 'As a partner… I'm important to him…'

|A Few Days Later|

'So, Praxis is looking for stuff that Mar left behind?'

Valentine asked, stretching out to test out her muscles. She was still hurting a bit, but felt better than she had done after she had fainted.  
'I wonder what he's up to…' she mumbled. If she hadn't been forced to blow that data bomb she could have looked it up, but now she was forced to write the new programming codes to re-establish a connection. She had been working on it while she was recovering, though progress was slow as she had to take in account her unknown opponent who was surely on the lookout for any tweaks in his system.

Jak looked at her, adjusting his gun. 'Well, that's what that woman Ashelin told me. I don't really care, as long as we put a stop to Praxis it doesn't matter what or who he's looking for.' Valentine frowned when Ashelin was put to mention. She didn't like the woman, although she didn't dislike her either. It wasn't her fault she was related to Praxis… but still, she was, and that was something Valentine couldn't ignore.

'I guess…' Valentine said, still looking vaguely worried. 'Did that mechanic have any useful info?' she asked, putting her wig on her head as she looked in the mirror. Torn wanted to see them, though he hadn't said why.

'Not really, although she said she could help us to get in the palace.'

'The palace… if we can attack Praxis there, we can put a stop to this war once and for all.' She said, a grim look on her face as she grabbed her pocket computer. 'But to get in the palace, we need to find some way in. The old elevator she mentioned doesn't have any power left, and I don't know anything about the energy routes in the city…'

She was forgetting something, she knew it. Or someone, but she couldn't put her finger on it…. 'Let's go, partner!' she said, giving Jak a pat on the shoulder. He nodded at her, almost seeming at ease. 'Partner.'

|Underground HQ|

'I need you three to go and check out the Prospection site. Vin's in trouble, and he's been a pretty good informant for us so we need to save his hide.' Torn said, pointing to a map of the city to show them the location of the Portal that would take them there.

'Uncle Vin is in trouble?' Valentine asked, her stance at once stiffening as she looked at Torn with a suspicious glare. Torn pretended not to notice as he answered her question. 

'We haven't heard word from him in a while, and the Baron had him stationed in one of the most dangerous areas. It's safe to assume that he's been found out and placed on the black list with the rest of us. Instead of shooting him straight out, he's probably been sentenced to death by being eaten by Metal Heads.'

'That's just nasty.' Daxter commented as he imagined what that would be like. Valentine frowned, as she turned around and paced out of the Headquarters. 'Jak, let's go!'

|The prospection site|

Jak landed perfectly, having prepared himself for impact. Daxter clinged on to his scarf, nearly choking him with it in fear. He stepped to the sides so he wouldn't be in Valentine's way when she came out. She followed soon enough, arms outstretched as she landed on her stomach. She got up coughing, patting away the dust from her pants in an effort to appear more decent, if only a bit.

'I'll never get the hang of that…' she mumbled. 

Jak chuckled as she threw him a glare. Daxter couldn't help but laugh out loud, though it was soon interrupted by a growl coming from a while further. Valentine shuddered as she heard it.

'Metal Heads…' she thought, already knowing what it meant. The whole area was infested with them, and they were waiting for food to pass. She and Jak, their bodies filled with the Dark Eco were like a walking buffet to them. Still, she didn't wish for a gun like Jak used. She was after all a scientist, and not a fighter like she was supposed to be. She'd be fine if she used her knowledge, and Jak was always ready to help her. Always…

Her eyes went in his direction, but she averted them right away. She had started to fall for him, a complication she couldn't use at the moment. It added to the internal turmoil, making her stomach queasy as she thought about it. 'We should get moving…' she said, checking her pockets to make sure her hardware was still there. Jak nodded once, before setting off holding his gun in his two hands. Valentine ran up closer, until she was right behind him.

'Do you know where your uncle will be?' he asked, his eyes scanning the area. He could hear the Metal Heads, but he didn't know where the sounds were coming from. The scratching sounds seemed to be coming from close by, but there was nothing nearby where the creatures were hiding. 

Valentine pointed upwards, to a small observation post. 'Knowing Uncle Vin he'll be hiding there. It's close to the portal, even though Praxis had it shut off. We get there, I insert my pocket computer and reroute the energy routes and we get out.'

'Any idea how we're getting up there?' he asked, not seeing anything that would lead them there.

Valentine pointed towards some of the mining carts moving up on a conveyer belt. 'Well, those things should take us up. Shouldn't be too hard getting there, right?'

Metal Head scorpions jumped up from underneath the earth, hissing at the fresh food that had entered their newly-claimed territory. Valentine rolled her eyes for the briefest of seconds, only allowing herself that small moment of diversion before she focused. 'I should learn how to keep my mouth shut…' she mumbled, kicking one of the little critters that came too close for her liking. 

They were fast, and the only reason she and Jak managed to keep up was because of the Dark Eco. Still, there were too many to leisurely take out, and she heard sounds of other Metal Head species. It shouldn't be a surprise, there were plenty of Dark Eco pools here, containing the raw untamed energy they used to survive.

Jak blasted three of them out of the way, grabbing Valentine's arm as he walked back. A clicking sound came from their right, and she could see a flying Metal Head zooming towards them. 'Jak, right!' she yelled, grabbing Daxter from his shoulder and making a beeline for the moving mining carts.

Daxter screamed, but whether it was because Valentine nearly choked him while running or because he could see the horde of Metal Heads following them was rather unclear, and she couldn't care less at the moment. 'I really need to work on my condition!' Valentine thought, almost tripping over a small pebble lying in the way. Before she had gotten far, Jak gained up and grabbed her by the arm, pulling her along. He shot behind them, not even looking where he was aiming.

They reached the carts, jumping in them. Valentine stumbled, getting her foot caught behind the steel railing of the cart, making her fall in rather than jumping in as she had pictured it. The cart was empty, and not filled with Dark Eco as she had feared for a moment. That would have killed them without a doubt. 

Jak had already gotten up again, shooting at any Metal Head that was considering following them. Valentine allowed herself a small moment of rest, regaining her breath. She was feeling tired, her limbs heavy with the sudden strain on her muscles. She hadn't recovered as much as she had hoped, her current situation a testament to that.

Before she knew it, they had arrived at the top. Jak helped her out before the cart rode away on the track, ready to mine more of the precious eco.

'You're sure your uncle's here?' he asked, looking at the apparently deserted facility in front of them.

'Positive. Uncle Vin isn't the type to go wandering around in a dangerous place just so he might reach a safe destination. Let's get him and get out. Those Metals are giving me a headache…'

Jak shrugged, opening the door by pressing the button to the side. At once shots were coming from inside, though they were far off. Still, it wasn't because a shot was astray it couldn't kill you. The three of them jumped to the side, out of the shooter's range.

'Hey, you're Vin right?' Jak yelled, hoping the man would stop shooting.

'Damn Metal Heads won't get me!' Vin yelled, as he kept shooting at the door opening.

'Will you stop shooting at us? We're here to help you. If we wanted to kill you, you'd be dead right now!' Jak yelled again, in an attempt to get through to the man.

'Uncle Vin, stop shooting already. Getting away will be easier if you stop trying to kill your only niece.' Valentine added. At once the shooting stopped, and Vin's voice rang out from the inside. 'Valentine? Friendlies? Oh thank goodness! Wait… where's the army?' he asked, looking about as he expected to see more people standing about, coming to rescue him.

Daxter jumped out from behind the corner, pointing to himself and his two companions. 'Well, we're it.'

'Oh, just what do they think I'm worth?' Vin yelled, letting himself drop down on the shut off control panels, looking as depressed as was possible. Valentine shook her head, walking inside and putting a hand on her uncle's shoulder. 'Well, Torn did send me. And he sent Jak and Daxter. Jak's… special, just like me, uncle.' Her voice had lost a sharp edge, an edge Jak had not even noticed there before until it was gone. Even when she talked to the Kid, she didn't sound quite that gentle. Valentine continued to talk, pulling her uncle along by the shoulder.

'That Torn sent his top team mean that he only realizes your value all too well, uncle.' She continued in her soothing voice. She seemed to calm Vin down, at least until he reached the door. There he froze up, looking around in a suspicious manner. 'Even if the two of you are the best the Underground has got, how can I be sure I won't get eaten by Metal Heads even now?' he asked, biting his thumb nail as he scanned the area for any signs of Metal Heads. Valentine rolled her eyes, pointing towards the portal that was only a little while removed from them.

'I doubt you'll get eaten in the time it takes us to walk three meters. 'C'mon uncle, we get out of here and go back to my place. You can eat something that hasn't been preserved for over three months before it got to you.' She added, referring to the food rations all of the Baron's personnel received. Salted meats and vegetables without any flavors left to them, the food was scarcely better than the food the Baron's prisoners received. Vin nodded at the prospect of a decent meal, and hurried in front of his three saviors.

'Well, if you put it like that, I guess it's worth the risk. After what the Baron did to me, I guess you can safely say I'm now on the black list. I wouldn't be surprised if there's a bunch of soldiers waiting for us in my old work station, fingers on the trigger and the minute we get through they'll… maybe I'm better off staying here? I mean, what harm can a few –'

Valentine shut the man up, tapping her finger against his shoulder. 'Uncle Vin, it's perfectly safe. I'm here, and Jak's here too. When it comes to Metal Heads, he's the most reliable guy you can find.' She flashed a quick glance in Jak's direction. He looked back at her, looking her in the eyes as he smiled at her. 

Valentine looked away quickly, feeling her heart jump up in her chest. Uncle Vin didn't notice anything, but Daxter looked at Valentine from atop Jak's shoulder for the remainder of the time it took to fire up the portal.

Jak hadn't noticed it yet, and neither had Valentine. But at least it was dawning to her that something might be possible between the two of them. Daxter thought it would be his duty as a best friend to give them a little push in the right direction, at the best time.


	6. Threats

|Valentine's place|

'A pick nick?' Valentine repeated after Daxter, not sure if she had heard right. The suggestion was so amazingly good, she had trouble believing the Ottsel had come up with it. The Kid was sitting next to her in the sofa, reading a story book. At times he'd look next to him, at Valentine or Daxter.

'Yeaaah, that's what I'm saying! There's this pretty cool park in Haven, right?' Daxter said, standing up and using his hands while he talked to emphasize his words. 'I was there once before, and sure, there's a few Metals out there but nothing what you and Jak can't handle, right? Just think about it, we'll take a pick nick basket and do nothing but laze around the whole day.'

Valentine ran a hand through her hair, thinking about it. Finally she smiled, before denouncing the idea. 'I'm sorry Daxter. Uncle Vin said that there's a soothsayer downtown who might be able to help us figure out what Praxis is planning. I'd love to go on a pick nick with you all… but taking Praxis down is still my main objective.'

She turned her attention back to her wrist computer, typing in codes as she peered in the Control Station programs. Whoever the person was that had discovered her codings a few weeks earlier, they were busy setting up a new security system. Valentine put out little codes of her own, some easy to detect and some harder. Even if they detected some, they would never be able to root out all of her codes. She now had the chance to infiltrate the system from the beginning, and that was a very valuable something.

Suddenly a warm hand touched her shoulder. She flinched, nearly mistyping one of her more complicated new surveillance codes. Looking behind her, Jak watched her with a smile. Valentine felt her heart skip a beat as she looked in those blue eyes. 'Jak.' She said, not sure what she could add to that.

'Valentine, are you ready to head out? The sooner we go see this Onin person, the better.' He smiled at her again, flashing those pearly white teeth. Valentine nodded, before leaning over to pick up the Kid.

'Okay kiddo, me and Jak are going out to work on some missions. Torn will be over here soon to pick you up. Be a good boy, okay?'

~Sure thing, Valentine. Will you be careful? And Jak too?~ the Kid signed at her. He had taken a liking towards Jak, even though the hero wasn't quite sure how he should act around a small child. Valentine smiled, nodding and telling the Kid that they both would be very careful. They waved, walking out the door. Jak started up one of the Zoomers, Valentine taking her usual place behind him.  
They drove in silence for a while, keeping an eye out for any guard that was too efficient for their liking. Finally Jak broke the silence.

'The Kid seems to like you.' He commented, taking a sharp turn left. Valentine grabbed his waist a little bit tighter, not keen on getting thrown off.  
'Yeah… well, I've been his Guardian after I escaped. He's a good kid, and he's quite happy now that he can use the sign language to communicate with everybody. Even though I'm the only one who's fluent with it at the moment.' She added the last part laughing, as she thought about Torn's efforts in mastering it.

Jak frowned. He had never before seen anybody using a sign language to communicate, and yet it felt as if he already knew it. There were times when Valentine and her young charge were having a conversation, signing away, and he would almost grasp what they were talking about. Once he had even understood, much to his and her surprise. She had him learning it too, and though progress was slow, some words he immediately knew without any effort.

It was baffling, to him as well as to Valentine. Though her surprise had been soon replaced by the kind of eagerness she usually only showed when she was experimenting in her lab, Jak was still quite skeptical about it. He didn't understand how it was possible for him to learn something so complicated so fast. Daxter tapped his shoulder, signaling that it was time for them to pull over. The Bazaar was apparently a pedestrian zone, much to his and Valentine's dismay. If they were in for a quick getaway, it would be hard if they couldn't use a Zoomer.

'C'mon, big boy.' Valentine said, giving him a tap on the shoulder as well, before she got off. He looked at her, dressed again in the purple wig and sunglasses. It was an effective disguise, and though they were sometimes harassed by people wanting an autograph, guards left them in peace. There had been one time when they had been pulled over by a patrol, but apparently the chief in it was a huge fan of DE-Girl.

Jak followed her, as Daxter jumped up on Valentine's shoulder, motioning him to hurry up. Looking back over his shoulder for a second, Jak quickly caught up. Amicably his hand brushed Valentine's elbow, letting her know he was right by her side. Trust had been built up between them, and now it was hard for Jak to imagine being without the girl. She was not just his mentor when it came to the darkness in him, but also a confidant when he was feeling so miserable he just wanted to scream. They had spent many a night staying up, sharing a drink while they talked about everything and nothing.

Valentine returned the touch, with a vague smile on her face. Jak was sure that she, at least partly, shared the same trust he had in her. While they were here, they took the opportunity to buy some fruits, fresh as could be. They watched people passing by as they walked further and further in the winding corridors, and soon she grabbed his arm, pulling him along with her. He felt his heart beat a little bit faster when she did that.

Valentine couldn't believe herself, grabbing Jak's arm like that. Still, he didn't object, for which she was quite thankful. Too soon for her tastes did they reach the soothsayers tent. She let go of him, reluctantly. Jak gave her a small push in the small part of her back, sending again butterflies through her stomach.

She knew that she was falling for the man. Quite badly in fact, judging from the way her heart fluttered just when he smiled at her. And though she fought to deny it, at the same time there was a thrill in it. The excitement when he somehow managed to say just the right things, or ended up touching her just as she needed it the most. The thrill of falling for someone who understood what she felt every day was almost too much.

The air in the tent was sweet, so sweet she almost suffocated on it. Incense was burning near the entrance, giving the place a misty look. Jak followed soon after, his eyes focusing on the huge, purple glowing mask that was placed right behind what he thought was the Seer.

Daxter, still on Valentine's shoulder, spotted a dead… something hanging from a beam. 'Cool, check out the dead stuff.' He commented, poking the thing on its beak.  
It bit him so hard Valentine could hear the snap. Daxter screamed, fleeing to her other shoulder while the thing that had done the biting flew to the other side of the room.

'Touch the goods again, rat boy, and you'll be aaaark, counting with your toes!' the creature said. It looked like somebody had fused a monkey with a parrot. Jak started chuckling, as well did Daxter. Valentine wondered about the odds of such a creature existing while it mumbled something about its mother.

'My name is Pecker. I am Onin's interpreter.' He said, making a bow as he stood on the woman's head. She started to sign, her blind eyes gazing into nothingness as she did so. Valentine was surprised to see another person using a sign language, but she didn't get anything of it. Pecker translated for her, mixing in a few insults for Daxter as he talked.

'Oh oh, let me try. She wants a… fur ball… a hair ball… a hairy chest!' When Daxter noticed the looks of disbelief on everybody's eyes, he tried a different approach. He waved his hands in the air, trying to look mystical.

'For many moons she has waited for… a juice pop?' he exclaimed, really not getting it anymore. Valentine facepalmed as Jak managed to shut his best friend up. Pecker explained them that if they wanted to know more about what Praxis was planning, they would need to find three artifacts located outside of the city. They had something to do with Mar, and therefore were imperative if they were to find the tomb of the founder of the city before Praxis.

'Even if this tomb of Mar has something in it that can help us beat Praxis, I still go with the option utter and total destruction…' Valentine said as they got out of the tent. The sunlight stung their eyes, the shift from pleasant shade to full sun bringing tears to their eyes as they blinked.

'Ya know, that doesn't sound half bad.' Daxter said while he checked his fingers. Pecker had bitten him hard, but thankfully not hard enough to draw blood from the Ottsel. 'We go and take out Praxis, you and Jak beat him up a little bit extra, throw him down from his own palace and that's the end of all this mess. Then we see the Shadow, look up Samos and Keira and get back to our own time.'

'Keira and Samos!' Jak exclaimed, suddenly remembering he still hadn't done anything to find his friends. How could he have forgotten about his mentor and the girl he liked?

'We should go and look for them, no?' he said, shoulders slumping when he realized he had been to absorbed in his own misery.

Valentine looked away, suddenly feeling dejected when she heard a girl's name enter the conversation. 'Yeah… I'll help you look for your friends Jak. As soon as we get those artifacts I'll get one of programs running to see if I can spot them. It'll be faster than having you running around the town all day.'

It felt as if the day had gotten a little colder. She hadn't realized that Jak might already have a special someone, let alone that he might want to return to where he came from. She straightened her shoulders, and took a deep breath. Jak hadn't noticed her sudden spell of slight depression, and she didn't want him to notice either.

'Let's get going, partner!' she said, clapping Jak on the shoulder. 

Daxter threw her a worried glance, as if he somehow got what was bothering her. He hopped over to her, his nails digging in her shoulder as he turned around to beckon Jak to hurry up. She ignored the comforting pat on her head as she kept her eyes on the Zoomer. Even if Jak knew a girl, it didn't mean that he liked that girl, right? Perhaps they were just friends…

Valentine forced the thoughts from her head, getting on the back of the Zoomer with the kind of smile on her face that told the outside world there was nothing wrong with her at the moment. Jak got fooled by it, as he smiled back at her before getting on the hovering bike as well. As she put her arms around her partner's waist, she told herself that she hadn't lost yet. And suddenly she smiled as she realized something.

'Daxter, it looks like we'll be able to have a pick nick after all! Lucky us!'

|Computer Station Beta|

'JARED!'

The dark-haired man jumped up from his stool, as if bitten by a Metal Scorpion. He recognized that voice from everywhere, since it was the voice of the second most powerful man in the castle. Erol, Commander of the troops and asshole extraordinaire. He turned around, keeping a long deep sigh inside his body, before he would scolded for that too.

'Commander, how nice to see you.' He lied between his teeth. 

The Commander seemed to be in an even worse mood than usual, and Jared thought he knew why. The fugitives Jak and Valentine had been sighted throughout most of the parts in town, although they always managed to flee just in time before they got arrested. The matter infuriated the Baron, who took it out on Erol who in turn took it out on people below his station.

Pretty much everyone, that was.

'I don't have time for idle chit-chat!' Erol said, snapping his fingers underneath the slightly taller man's nose. 

Jared's eyes narrowed a bit in frustration at the gesture, but he remained quiet. Erol kept talking, his eyes on the computer screen and the stack of notes on the smaller desk on the sides. He picked up the paper on the top, pushing it underneath Jared's nose.

'Why haven't you solved this already?' he yelled, before ripping the paper in half. 'The Baron hired you because after Vin you are the best in this town! Somebody is messing with our system, and instead on working on the new one you're just taking notes about the hacker. Notes! You are to work on something that will keep out any hacker, and certainly that one that you believe is such a genius!'

'I have been working on that, Commander, but may I just point out that-' Jared started, pushing his glasses back up on his nose. Erol didn't let the man finish, instead pulling out a gun and placing it on the man's forehead.

'Jared, if you are thinking for even one second that I am interested the lame excuses of somebody who's hardly of the rank to clean my boots, I suggest you think again.' He removed the gun, gesturing Jared go sit on his chair again. The scientist did as told, trying to keep himself from spitting at the Commander.

Erol put a foot on the small table, looking at all the papers sprawled around the room, tapping the gun against the side of his leg. The ginger man gave the dark-haired one a slow smile. Jared looked at the doors, seeing two Krimzon Guards posted there. Not that it mattered. Jared wouldn't have run away either way, since he knew what was at stake. His eyes moved to a picture on the desk. Erol followed his gaze, his smile somehow becoming even wider when he spotted that picture. He picked it up, examining it more closely.

'And here I was thinking that you had forgotten what would happen if you didn't work properly. I almost thought you didn't care for your precious family anymore. What a shame it would be if something happened to them… and that the security system wouldn't be able to film it when it happened.'

Erol's eyes met those of Jared. Jared said nothing, though his fists clenched. Jared had been working on the security system, but he had also been on the look-out for any small traces that had already been sneaking in his system. He had found some, but he wasn't nearly cocky enough to think he had rooted all of them out. Whoever it was that infiltrated the system, they knew what they were doing. Finally, when Erol's staring became too much, Jared scraped his throat.

'If the Baron wants me to get a system up fast, I can do it. I can't do it if he also expects it to be safe for the full one hundred percent. If you're just patient, I'm sure that-'

Erol hit him with the side of the gun. Jared felt how his head was forced to the side, and he thought he could hear something crack. He tasted metal, and realized his own teeth had cut through some skin, drawing blood to his mouth.

His ears were ringing, and though he saw Erol's mouth moving, the words didn't connect to his brain. Jared realized he was lying on the floor, but didn't remember falling down there. His hands hurt from breaking his fall though, so he supposed his body must have done its best as to protect him. He saw Erol snarl something at him as the man bent over, grabbing him by the collar and pulling him up to his feet.

Jared struggled to get up, lest he be choked to death. The ringing in his ears stopped, in time for him to hear what Erol was saying now.

'You will have this program finished by the end of this week, Jared. For each hour you go over the deadline, I'll start popping family members. Work fast Jared, and make sure you do it good. Even if the Baron would be charitable about mistakes, I am certainly not.'

Jared mumbled something, feeling his jaw tentatively, hoping nothing was fractured. Erol looked behind him, smiling in a pleased way for a change.

'I'm sorry, what were you saying? When you mumble it's so hard to hear for me.'

'I said : yes sir. I'll get started right away. It'll be finished on time.' Jared said louder. He hadn't broken anything, though that was probably more luck than intention from Erol's part. When Erol had left, Jared found himself sitting in his chair, holding his family picture in his hands.

He wondered about why his adversary was doing what they did. Was their family in danger too, or did they fight only for themselves? Did they fight for love or out of hate? 

What did they want with their lives?

Who was it?

Jared sighed as his fingers started moving on the keyboard, asking forgiveness from the person who he was fighting against.


	7. Trust

|Valentine's Place|

Jak knocked on the door of Valentine's work place for the third time. When he still hadn't gotten any answer, he opened up the door and slipped inside, letting the door fall in the lock behind him. Valentine didn't want the Kid getting inside her workshop, in case he would cut himself – or worse – on all of the sharp objects in the room.

'Valentine, where are you?' he asked loudly, looking around for the woman. In his right hand he carried a plate with some food in it, the latest of his culinary exploits. Though he sucked at cooking, Valentine insisted high and low that he was getting better. He assumed she didn't count the near-food poisoning he had almost given her in that calculation.

He spotted a leg from underneath a table, and smiled. She probably was wearing her headset again, having the volume turned up so loud that she couldn't hear a thing. Apparently she was supposed to be writing a new song as DE-girl, much to her annoyance. Keeping up a superstar cover was harder than it looked, since she had to go out in public and perform regularly as well.

Jak tapped her leg once, before he grabbed it and pulled her from underneath the iron mass when the hammering sounds had stopped. She rolled out on the Hoover Board, which she had conveniently borrowed from him after he had gotten it from the mechanic Krew had put them in contact with.

'Jak, what's up?' Valentine asked her partner, holding out a hand for him to help her up. He obliged, with his other hand keeping the food plate in balance. When Valentine noticed it, she clapped in her hands.

'Been cooking again? Well, let me try!' she said, reaching for the food. Jak chuckled, letting her have it. When she was locked up in this room she lost track of all time, and forgot to eat for the better part of the day. She nodded, rolling her eyes at him in delight.  
'It's good!' she said, before smiling at him. 'You've improved again.' She added, making him smile. She was so hungry she was eating with her hands, although that also could have to do with Jak having forgotten to bring any utensils.

'Valentine, your uncle called. He said he has found a way to get us in the Palace, but I can't understand anything about the plans he sent us. Maybe you could-'

'Uncle Vin called?' Valentine said, before choking in the food that went down her air pipe. Jak patted her back a few times, but before he had covered the problem sufficiently she was already running of, taking the food with her. He ran after her, and saw her talking to her uncle over the computer screen, still stuffing chunks of meat in her mouth.

'… and then you should stabilize any fluctuations in the power current, but only if you're sure the outer sockets would be able to handle it. If not, you can divert the power to the cannons.' Vin explained, pointing to some dancing figures on the screen.

'But wouldn't that-' Valentine started to ask, before Vin started again.

'Yes, but that should be fixed after-'

'They fire three shots, max four. Of course!' Valentine said, though half of it was unintelligible, due to her mouth full of food.

It was amazing to Jak how Valentine and Vin communicated like that, finishing sentences before they were even properly formed in the others mind. He had walked in on Valentine talking to Vin on several occasions, while one of them would be showing a piece of hard-or software to the other, asking advice on some tricky part. And yet he didn't feel excluded, since Valentine always invited him to join in the conversation, and perhaps even shed some light on the situation.

When he argued that he didn't know the first thing about mechanics, she told him that an untrained mind often came up with solutions neither she nor her uncle would ever think of. Valentine was forced to stop talking when she forced a rather large piece of vegetable in her mouth. While she was chewing on that, Vin motioned Jak towards him.

'Jak! Just the person I needed to see. Look, I've pointed out the location of several power switches on this map. These are the ones you should worry about, since these can't be accessed by the external grid, making it so that Valentine can't hack them. Take out the cannons above them and hit the power box with all your might. It just needs to break so the power won't be used up there anymore.'

Jak nodded, understanding what was expected of him. Valentine gave him a sideways glance, an encouraging smile on her face. 'I'll be waiting in the abandoned elevator, hacking the system as well. Keep your communicator with you, in case something should go wrong. I'll let you know when I'm done rerouting the power.'

Before she could turn of the power, Vin made a coughing sound. Valentine looked up, not certain what the man wanted.

'Uncle?'

'Valentine… does Torn know you're doing this?' Vin asked.

Valentine looked away from the screen, towards Jak. 'He might have an idea, yes. But he has bigger worries than taking care of the two of us.' She reminded the man.

'If the two of you get yourselves killed, the Underground would be in even more trouble. Torn needs the two of you, my dear. If one of you was missing, this fight would become so much more harder on everyone.' Vin continued, his eyes betraying that he didn't really feel it was his place for him to lecture them. Yet he knew that the eco coursing through their bodies made them rash in their actions, quick to anger and even quicker to jump when they should instead think. Even Valentine, who was supposed to know better, lost all control when it came to defeating the Baron.

'We won't get killed, uncle.' Valentine answered in that self-assured way of her.

'Jak is here to protect me, and I will keep him safe as well. As long as the two of us are working together, nothing can stop us from killing Praxis.'

How did she manage to sound so confident in his abilities? There hadn't been a moment yet where she had wavered in her belief in him, and no reason for them to stop their trust in each other. Jak could almost feel her heartbeat when they were out on a mission for the Underground, and somehow they moved in sync when in trouble. Where did she find that much trust in him, after all that had happened. And because she was able to put everything she had in his hands, he found himself relying on her as well. Next to Daxter, there was nobody in this world he trusted more.

Valentine turned off the big screen where her uncle had been displayed, before attaching her small computer to her wrist. She looked a bit tired from her constant work on the thing, and yet her energy did not waver one moment.

'You ready, partner?' she asked him.

Jak found himself looking away from her blue eyes. Sometimes they were too bright for him, even with the swirl of pain that made them seem smaller every so often.  
'Valentine… how do you do it?' he said, softly.

'Do what?' she asked, finding her nerves stand on end. Jak seemed to really wonder about something.

'How can you still trust people?' he asked her. 'You trust the Kid, your uncle and Torn. You had no problems taking me in your house after I escaped, even if you didn't know the first thing about who I was. How can you be so… trusting in others?'

Valentine's smile seemed to grow a little bit sadder when she heard that question. Looking at him, her gaze seemed to soften, as if she could see past him to a different time and place.  
'It wasn't like that at first.' She started. 'When I managed to escape from Praxis, I went straight for uncle Vin's place. But instead of finding him there, I saw Torn and some others of the Underground. I was afraid the Krimzon Guard had found me, and attacked on sight. Torn was lucky I was weakened, or else he wouldn't have survived my dark form.'

Valentine shuddered at the thought of what she might have done. 'They managed to catch me, without doing much damage. I was too dangerous to be let loose though, so I ended up from one prison into the next. Even though I wasn't being hurt anymore, my being was too integrated with the Dark Eco to let me think straight. It didn't affect you as much as me, perhaps because you are better at channeling it, perhaps because I was far younger than you when they started injecting me with the eco. Let me assure you… I was far more Dark than I was myself.'

She thought back about that time… cursing and yelling whenever Torn got near her, and trying to bite anybody who came too close. She had been so lost then, lost in the confines of her own fear and pain. More animal than girl, only interested in defending herself.

'And then, one day, the Shadow finally returned from a mission. I was too exhausted from trying to escape Torn only a few minutes ago, and he managed to bring a little balance in my confused mind. Somehow, he managed to lift the burden, a little bit.'

The Green eco that had been injected in her body had given her a little relief. Even that little bit helped, and she had grasped for those few moments of sanity. The man who had helped her had looked down on her as she lay on the floor, putting a hand on her head.

'That's when he told me the thing I needed to hear to become who I am now. As long as I am able to have trust in another person, they will trust in me as well. If I'm able to do that, my heart won't be that cold anymore, and the rage won't mess me up that badly. Because the people that I trust are also the people that are the reason for me to fight. Every single person in Haven who suffers under Praxis' rule trusts in the Underground. In return, we trust in them to help us. As long as we can have this faith in each other, there is no way that Praxis will be able to win.

The Shadow helped me through the weeks and months that passed. I was able to talk with people again, fight and laugh again. I need to believe that my trust in people will be repaid in kind, so we can make a wonderful world where we won't need to fight anymore. The Shadow is the person who put his trust in me, and that's what saved me. I wanted to trust in you, Jak, because I wanted you to have a goal like I have.'

Jak blushed, looking away. What she had said sounded so noble, and so unreal. To be able to be the first person to give trust to another, without being able to expect anything back… it was a wonderful, and yet so dangerous a thing. He wouldn't have been able to do it, he knew that for sure. The pain and anger still were raging in him so fervently. Only Valentine was able to somehow calm that inner storm down, but even she could do nothing against the pain. They shared this affliction, and probably the same fate.

'Valentine… what if they fail to live up to that? What if they end up betraying you?'

Valentine gave him a cold, hard look. 'Betrayal is a crime that can have only one outcome. Death, for me or for them.'

|The Castle|

'JAK!' Valentine cried out from behind a wall, before pulling her head back in when the Baron launched a few shots at her. The stone crumbled, huge lumps of it flying away over the edge before tumbling down, causing damage to the city underneath.

This wasn't supposed to happen! How had Praxis known that they were coming? There was no way he'd have that robot prepared at all times! Daxter sat between her feet, cowering at the sounds of shooting. Valentine took a few deep breaths, before grabbing Daxter and running over the rooftop, rain lashing against her face in violent streams. She was soaked to the core, and almost slipped three times on the slippery surface.

When Praxis turned to fire on her, Jak took advantage of the situation to fire on the robot's backside. Something was hit, and it clanked against the sides of the huge metal suit. Still, the Baron paid no heed, coming for Valentine in a relentless way. Like a deer trapped in headlights, she stopped running and turned around, looking in the barrels of the guns.

'So sad to see you go, my dear girl.' Praxis said, before he pulled the trigger.

In that tiny split second before the fire broke loose, Jak jumped, arms around Valentine and forcing them both to the side. The ground broke their fall violently, and they slid further a little bit. Skin was scraped from her one knee, where the fabric of her pants had torn away five minutes earlier. Still, her anger overruled that small amount of pain as she scrambled back up, Jak already running to the other side of the roof.

'We're dead! How are we supposed to stop this thing?' Daxter screamed, having preferred to stay with Valentine, who attracted less gunfire than Jak. She swiped her wet bangs away from her eyes, feeling the pressure building as she needed to think of something so very, terribly fast.

Her eyes landed on the piece of hardware Jak had managed to shoot loose. It hung limply from the sides, but seemed to be providing the armor with its flying power still. 

'Daxter, you see that thing?' Valentine asked, pointing at the brightly red colored piece of equipment.

'Uhuh.' Daxter said, his ears tilting since he could already guess what Valentine was about to do.

'We're going to destroy it.' She said coldly, grabbing the Ottsel by the neck, running for the metal giant.

'Nooooo! Wait, Valentine! STOP!' Daxter yelled, trying to break loose from Valentine's grasp. It didn't really work though, and he watched in fear as they got closer to the robot. Valentine threw him towards the red tube-like thing, the Ottsel flying through the air.

'Daxter, break it loose! Hurry!' Valentine yelled, as Praxis turned his robot around to face her.

Daxter was swung around, holding on tight. He caught a glimpse of the city far beneath them and gulped for air. If he was thrown down, there was no way he'd survive. Screaming he grabbed the tube, scampering up. Getting closer to the end, he could see it was being held together by small wires. He could stick his hand in and break them loose, but he'd probably end up electrocuted.

'Valentine, you gotta help me here!' he yelled.

Valentine sighed, running in circles in an attempt to avoid Praxis getting a lock-on.

'Jak, help Daxter!' she yelled.

When Jak turned around, he could see Daxter hanging there. Though he had no clue about what the Ottsel was doing, he decided it was worth a go. He jumped up, grabbing the tube. Before he knew what was happening, the tube let go, dropping him back down. The robot seemed to be going out of control, spinning as Praxis cursed. It tripped backwards, falling down while Praxis was yelling obscenities at them.

'Jak, Daxter!' Valentine yelled, running up to them. She kneeled next to Jak who was lying on the ground, still dazed by the fall. Daxter was on his stomach, grumbling about having to do crazy things.

 

'Are you alright, Jak?' she asked him. Jak nodded, wiping his long hair back, looking at her in relief.  
'How about you?' he asked.

'I'm fine.' She replied, shakily.

'You think he's dead?'

She shook her head, placing her forehead against Jak's. His skin was cool from the rain, but she needed to feel some contact with him. The adrenaline had surged through her veins, leaving her shaky. Jak took a deep breath, and she did the same. A few seconds of rest was something they needed, but they shouldn't take too long.

'We should get going.' She said softly, pulling Jak up as she got back on her feet. For a second they held hands, before quickly releasing one another. Valentine looked away blushing, before she started to make her way to the lift. They should get out of there before the Guards showed up.

Suddenly her communicator started to beep, and before she had a time to answer it, the Shadow's voice poured out of the speaker.

'VALENTINE! What have you been doing!'

'Ah, sir… I … what are you talking about?' she asked, knowing full well what he was talking about.

'You're at the Baron's palace now, aren't you? Don't try to deny it, everybody has already seen a robot fall down from there, and there's only one person in the entire Underground who is capable of thinking up something so idiotic!'

'But sir, I really did… we almost got him, of you'd just let us…'

'And your partner is there too, isn't he? Well, the two of you can just report back to the base, it's about time I get to see this young man. And don't you even think of running away!'

Her communicator shut itself off. Valentine threw Jak a depressed look. 'You heard the man. Time to report to base.'

Jak looked at her in a dumbfounded way. 'We're meeting the Shadow? Finally!'


	8. Love Hurts

|Underground HQ|

'Valentine! What the hell were you thinking?' Torn burst loose, the Shadow standing next to him. Jak wasn't inside yet, since he was outside parking the car. Valentine had a pretty clear idea of how she looked at the moment; with her pants torn and knees scraped, water dripping from the two tips of her twin tails she must have been the equivalent of a drowned cat.

'I was thinking we might've been able to take Praxis out without having to lose too many people!' she retorted, hands clenched at her sides.

Samos took the word, leaning against Torn's desk as he talked. 'You've been very irresponsible, my girl. The risks you took today could have very well crippled the Underground and have rendered us unable to defeat the Baron at all. What were we supposed to do it you had failed in the quest you had taken upon yourself?'

Valentine looked to her toes, clasping her hands behind her back as she looked very much like a reprimanded child. Talking back to Torn, who she considered an equal, was easy. But talking back to Samos was something she couldn't imagine doing. The man had been responsible for her return from the darkness, and she owed him her sanity, if not her life. She looked away, unable to return the shorter man's gaze.

'… I'm sorry. I was wrong. It's not Jak's fault at all, it was entirely my idea!' she said, taking the blame fully on herself. She didn't want Jak to end up in trouble too, and Samos smiled when he noticed that.

'I'm glad you found a partner you trust enough to lie for him, my girl. Though you're still wrong for doing it.'

The secret door went open, and Jak rushed in, Daxter perched on his shoulder. Valentine's heart clenched together as she saw him walk in that confident manner of his. He had saved her life again today, and she had saved his. It was something that she cherished.

Then Jak's facial impression changed, as he saw the man that was called 'the Shadow'.

'SAMOS!' he cried out, together with Daxter. The Ottsel jumped on the desk, looking at the man in surprise.

'I see you're looking good! Had a little nip 'n tuck while we were gone, did you?' the Ottsel commented, before scurrying out of Torn's reach. Samos seemed to be confused at that remark, before he started waving a finger at Jak as well.

'As for you, young man, you've been making quite a name for yourself. Torn assured me you're most dependable.'

Torn frowned when Samos said that. He didn't want Jak to know what he may or may not have said about the younger man. Samos ignored his scowl, and continued speaking.

'And because you are so dependable, I'd like for you to go back into the ruined part of the city. There is a seed in my former house that may prove invaluable to us. I would've liked to send Valentine, but the girl isn't really much of a fighter, as you may have noticed.'

'I can handle my own!' Valentine objected, but her comment was quickly waved away by Samos.

'You have other things to handle in the meanwhile, Valentine. I hope you're still responsible enough to tend to your duties.'

Valentine glanced sideways to Jak, before she let out a long sigh that seemed to come straight from her toes.

'Fine… Sir…' she muttered. She always called Samos 'sir' when he ordered her to do something that she would prefer not to. For example leaving her partner to fend for himself in one of the most dangerous places known to Haven citizens.

Samos let out a sigh. The girl was obviously quite infatuated with her partner, and Jak seemed to return the feeling. He could tell from the way the boy put a hand on her shoulder, and showed Valentine a shy smile. The two seemed to get along just fine, and their presence seemed to have a soothing effect on one another. Still, it was necessary to break them apart from time to time. Especially for Valentine's sake; the girl shouldn't become too depending on Jak's help, in case she had to do a mission alone.

'Samos, I still need to talk to you! How did you end up these two years? Where's Keira?' Jak's questions burst out like bullets as he turned to the man who he almost couldn't recognize. Almost, but this was most definitely Samos. It couldn't be any other person, not by a long shot.

'My boy, I have no idea what you are talking about! Now, hurry up and we'll talk later on, the two of you have caused quite enough trouble for one day. Hurry home and get some band aids, you look like you could use them. Valentine, don't disappoint me again.' Samos concluded, waving a finger at the girl, who pouted at being reprimanded.

'I won't.' she said, putting her arms in front of one another.

Once they were outside, Jak grabbed her arms, looking at her as if he couldn't believe she was standing there.

'Valentine, that was SAMOS! Do you have any idea who he is?' he said, trying to confirm if the man really was the Samos he knew. The man who had raised him and thought him all he ought to know to survive.

'Of course I have. Samos is the leader of the Underground, and he was in the middle of his Eco Mage training before this whole war broke loose. The only reason he's not already a Mage is because all of the Eco supplies are cut of, safe for the Dark Eco supplies. Jak, are you okay?'

Jak put a hand to his forehead, trying to connect everything he knew. Samos had already been a Mage, before they got here. But this Samos looked younger. He started to suspect something… but he needed proof. And maybe they would find what he was looking for in the house that the man had mentioned.

|The Next Day, Early Morning|

'Valentine!' Jak yelled her name, storming into her room in a way that suggested he was being chased by a Metal Head. She shot up and threw her alarm clock at his head, followed by several other small items she had just within her grasp.

'AAAAAH! Get out, get out!' she screamed.

'Valentine, it's me, Jak! Stop trying to kill me!' Jak yelled with his hoarse voice.

Valentine stopped throwing the objects at her best friend, and pushed away the blankets so she could get up better. Her hair was tangled and she was willing to bet she looked awful at the moment. Though there weren't any windows in her room – the only ones were at the front of the house – she guessed it couldn't be any later than six in the morning.

'Jak… What the hell ya think yer doing, waking me up this early?' she said, clearly not in a good mood this early in the morning. She couldn't believe it had taken Jak this long before he had gotten back from the mission.

He ran over, jumping on her bed and grabbing her by her upper arms, his face having the look of an enlightened madman on it. He was lucky he had taken of his shoes, or else she would have kicked him out of her bed sooner than he could blink. Daxter ran up her bed too, seemingly as much in shock as Jak seemed to be happy to have found a piece of the puzzle.

'It all makes sense now!' he told her, shaking her back and forth. Valentine replied by pushing a pillow in his face.

'Calm down. It's way too early in the morning for this kind of-'

'Valentine… I'm from the past!' Jak mumbled through the pillow, sounding energetic as ever. She removed the pillow from his face, and looked at him with one eyebrow raised. She seemed to be quite unfazed by his notion.

'… Did some Metal knock you on the head while I wasn't with you?' she asked, not seeing how else the man could be so delusional.

Jak rolled his eyes when she said that, as Daxter pointed a finger at Valentine.

'Listen, you won't BELIEVE the stuff we found out. I mean, Samos is the Samos we knew, or at least, he'll become the Samos we knew in the past. Which means that he'll evolve and move forward backwards in time, while we kind of… just…'

Valentine threw the Ottsel an incredulous look, before she looked back to Jak. He looked at her in a way that pleaded with her to believe him.

'Look, we went back to the old parts of town and there we saw Samos' home. At least, the home we knew him to have, only it's all rotten up and withered and stuff. I mean… how could we remember it, if we're not… from the past…?' he ended slowly, as if he wasn't quite sure about what he was saying himself. Still, Valentine could see he was serious about it, and she had complete faith in her partner. Even if she still didn't know what to think about it.

'Then that machine you told me about transported you here, to the future?' she was quiet for a while, before she let out a throaty laugh, as if she just realized something.  
'This is your future… Bummer…' she said, realizing it just then.

'Kinda…' Jak agreed. Then he looked back at her. 'Say, think you could build something to send us back? That way we can somehow prevent all of this from happening.' He said.

Valentine felt her insides turn to ice a little as he said that. If she were able to build something like that… then he would be able to stop all of this. They would never have to live with the curse of Eco in their bodies, and people wouldn't have to suffer. Families would never have been broken up, and the Kid would never have had to cry so much.

She would never… never have met Jak.

Jak would have died centuries before she even drew her first breath… before the founder of Haven City, Mar, drew his first breath. There wouldn't be any sign he had lived left on the earth. Time would have erased all traces from the man that she had grown to love and trust. He was looking at her now with a questioning look in his eyes.

'Valentine?'

'I guess I could. If I could get my hands on the machine that brought you here in the first place it should be okay.' Her eyes didn't betray her feelings as she said that as her hands were shaking underneath the bed covers.

Jak leant over towards her, and pressed his lips against her forehead. She froze up when he did that, as she felt the contact of his lips on her soft skin. Her heart skipped a few beats, and she could feel a lone, purple spark moving across one of her fingers.

|Mechanic Workshop|

'Like I said, if you're able to win the races, you'll be able to get up and close with our dear friend Praxis and let him see what you're made of. That is, if we're able to secure a spot for you in the first place.' Valentine said as they walked in the workshop. She didn't think it would help any though, since the girl working here was extremely reluctant to help anybody who might be associated with Krew. Still, it was as good a shot as any.

'Listen, we need to talk to you again.' Jak said towards the girl who was still hiding behind the curtains. They could see the girl turn around from whatever she was working on, her screwdriver in one hand as she gestured agitatedly.

'You again? Look, I already told you, I don't want to deal with someone who works with a guy like Krew!' the girl said. Valentine rolled her eyes, and gave Jak a 'told you so' look. Jak shrugged, but that wasn't counting Daxter.

'Listen lady, we've been working looong and hard to get a little bit of respite in this town, and now you're gonna be giving us a hard time? Seriously? Let me tell you something sister-'

'DAXTER!' the girl said, pushing away the curtains. When the blue-haired girl appeared, Jak and Daxter both said the same thing at the exact same time.

'KEIRA!'

'Daxter! I'd know that voice anywhere! And Jak, you look… different…' Keira said, as she stopped in her tracks. She had seen something in his eyes that hadn't been there before… something dark and cruel…

'Yeah, the Baron pumped our boy here full of Dark Eco. Listen Keira, you do not want to piss him off, trust me!' Daxter said as he jumped to a higher platform so he could look the girl in the eyes.

'Dark Eco?' Keira asked, looking at Jak with worry in her eyes.

Valentine frowned when she saw that look. She didn't want… she didn't like seeing another woman worrying about Jak. She rolled her shoulders, trying to relax a bit while Jak and Keira talked. After they had gone through the obligated 'what's happened to you these two years' talk, Keira noticed Valentine standing there, twirling the tails of her purple wig. When their eyes met, Valentine forced a smile on her face.

'Jak… who is this?' Keira asked. She saw the same darkness in the new girl's eyes, that hinted of terrible dark things that hunted people's nightmares. And in her eyes Valentine found nothing but the innocence that she had learned to dislike. Innocence made people weak, and susceptible to the lies Praxis liked to send in the world. Innocence was dangerous to people like Valentine. It made her feel even more dirty than she already was, more tainted and far more… evil.

Valentine averted her eyes towards Jak, and lifted her eyebrows. He decoded that aptly as 'are you going to say something?' and put a hand on Valentine's shoulder.

'Keira… this is Valentine. She's my partner in the Underground. Valentine… this is Keira, my-'

'- childhood girlfriend.' Keira finished Jak's sentence for him, sending a blush to his cheeks. Valentine forced a smile on her face, the one she usually reserved for when she was suffering from the Eco in her body. But right now it was almost as if something even more painful resided in her body. It shredded at her heart and made her eyes burn, almost as if she were sick.

'Charmed.' She managed to say.

Keira returned the smile, though she seemed to be having less trouble with it. 'Valentine… is there a reason you're dressed up as DE-Girl?' Keira asked her.

'Ah, that's her cover. Being two wanted criminals works miracles for your popularity, I'll tell you that.' Jak said in an attempt at humor to lighten the mood a little. He saw the corner of Valentine's mouth twitch a little when she heard it. She seemed to be somewhere else completely with her thoughts. He thought that he might be better of leaving her alone for a second. She seemed pained, and he guessed the Eco was working up again.

|After the Race|

Jak had won the 3rd class race! It wasn't a surprise to Valentine; Jak was always so incredible at the things he did, she didn't think he could ever lose. She had been cheering him on from the sidelines, screaming and leading on the cheers as DE-Girl. In no time, Jak had become one of the most popular racers on the track.  
Now he was moving towards the pit, where he could put away his vehicle since the race had ended. She got up from the small bench she had been waiting at, planning to simply leap in his arms so she could congratulate him.

Before she had taken a step, Keira had beaten her to it. Jak caught her as if he had been expecting her to do that, and he swung her around in glee. Valentine felt the tightening in her chest again, and wondered if she would ever get used to that irritating feeling. It didn't hurt her body as much as the Eco did, but when it came to mental damage, it could certainly compete.

Hadn't she been fooling herself, and a lot at that? Of course there had been no way Jak would ever like her in that way, when he already had a girl. A girl that wasn't damaged so badly, and that didn't have to see life in that gruesome way.

An innocent girl.

Jak and Keira walked closer, and Valentine forced a shiver away. She didn't want to deal with the Eco now, not now when she already had something else to deal with. She didn't really want to scream her lungs out at how stupid Jak was. And she didn't want to throw herself in his arms as well, crying and pleading for even a little bit of affection.

She didn't want it at all.

Daxter gave her a pat on her shin, looking up at her with a look that resembled pity quite a lot. Too much, in fact. She smiled at him, her fake smile that had taken her so long to perfect. Daxter smiled back at her, though not quite convincing. Did he see right through her, as she hoped Jak would?

Jak paused when he got near her, and looked at her with a shining smile. He looked so much at peace right now, as if nothing could bring him down at this moment.

'Well, what do you think? Now we're one step closer to our goal! Isn't this great?' he asked her.

Valentine glanced at Keira for a second, who was standing right next to Jak. Valentine looked in Jak's big blue eyes, and couldn't do anything to make him feel bad. Instead she smiled, and tried not to shiver.

'Yes. It's great alright.'

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> |How about clicking that cute little kudos button down there? Or drop me a message or something ^^|


	9. Not A True Monster

|A Few Days Later|

'Are you sure you'll be alright?' Jak asked her, a worried look on his face. Valentine nodded, looking at the Haven Forest portal. Samos had asked her to take out some Metal Head scouts that had been sneaking around there, and she had gladly accepted. It seemed that her emotional state at the moment only made the Dark Eco production in her body worse.

'I'll be fine.' She said, not looking Jak in the eyes. She had been rather unable to do so, after his constant being on the phone with Keira as they were catching up. Today the two of them were going on a date, and even the thought about it made her stomach twist in knots. She didn't have a right to be so upset about it, there was nothing going on between her and Jak after all. Still, Daxter looked at her in an equally worried manner.

'You ain't looking that good, sugar plum. Maybe you should just head home. Jak and I can take over if you'd like.'

'No.' Valentine answered, before Jak could. 'I'll be fine. I… I need this.'

That much of it was true, at least. She was strained to keep from emitting in purple sparks now, and she couldn't put off transforming much longer. She needed to change. She needed to -

-Kill.

Valentine wrapped one arm around her waist, giving Jak a faint push with her other hand.

'Go on then… She'll be waiting for you.'

|The Date|

Jak and Keira sat on opposite ends of a table, drinking something the waitress had called 'Like, the best drink in all of Haven city, yeah'. As it turned out, it was a fizzy bright green soft drink, so sweet Jak thought his taste buds might incinerate from it.

'So…' he finally said, breaking the silence. 'What have you been doing these past two years?'

Keira didn't answer right away, but took a few extra sips. Then she cleared her throat, before she started talking. 'Well, at first I was scared of course, being dropped in the middle of nowhere. But eventually a Lurker found me, and he and his family helped me get started.'

'A Lurker?' Jak asked, not believing it. Lurkers were vicious and aggressive beasts after all.

'Oh, they changed, over time. Now they're mostly merchants, though they say the Baron also uses them as slaves. And Barna – the one that found me – also happened to be able to help me get a license as a mechanic for the palace. I found a small apartment not too far from my work, I ended up getting contacted by the Underground after a few months, and also by Krew. I still can't believe you work for him.' She added the last part with a voice as if she had swallowed something sour.

Jak shrugged, taking another sip of the overly sweet drink. 'Well, he pays good enough. And like Valentine says, it's not because you have to work with someone that you need to like them. She says she only trusts Krew as far as she can throw him.'

Keira's face twisted up. 'Yes well… about Valentine…'

'Yeah?'

'How sure are you that you can trust her?'

Jak couldn't believe his ears. The question stung him, almost as if Keira had questioned how much she could trust him. And yet the look on her face told him that she was completely serious, and was expecting him to answer in kind.

'What do you mean, can I trust her? Of course I can.'

'Yeah? What gives you that idea? She's a wanted criminal, she's been infected by Dark Eco and she runs around the town posing as some kind of pop star while she should be hiding if she was in any real danger. You said that she's one of the smartest people you know, and I can't believe it. She doesn't seem like she's so smart at all.'

Jak tried to say something, but he found his vocal cords strangely lacking. Keira kept looking at him, expecting him to say something.

'I'm infected by Dark Eco too.' He finally said. It seemed like the most logical point to start from. 'And I'm a wanted criminal. If it wasn't for Valentine's work, I wouldn't be able to sit here with you, Keira.' He tried not to yell, but it was surprisingly hard. It was almost as if an attack on Valentine was like an attack on himself. They had been working together for so long now, he felt vaguely awkward not having her sit here as well, looking at him with those blue eyes that gave him the impression they could see right down to his soul.

'Maybe you are. But you're Jak. I know you, and I trust you.'

'I trust Valentine.' Jak said, gruffly. Valentine had been the one taking him in her home, showing him how to control himself.

Keira sighed, but reached out and touched Jak's hand. He didn't pull back. 'I'm sorry I brought this up, Jak. Let's not talk about this anymore, okay? Let's talk about something else.'

Jak nodded, and watched how Keira signaled for the waitress to bring another drink. He watched her, and he remembered all the good times he had had with Keira. And then he thought about Valentine, and how she was doing now.

|Haven Forest|

One of the two scouts lunged at her with his head, teeth snapping shut only inches from her abdomen. Valentine moved back, using the reflexes the Dark Eco had given her body. Ripples of Dark Energy shook through her body as she took advantage of the creatures lunge, and ripped with elongated fingernails at its eyes. The Metal Head retracted it's long neck, shrieking as hot, dark-colored blood gushed out. The other scout was hovering slightly above her, its long and strangely elegant body moving gracefully as it tried to determine the best way to attack her.

She moved out of the way when it dove down, and it crashed down in a tree, lying in a crumpled up heap. It seemed to be slightly dazed from the blow. She moved closer, to slash open its throat. The first scout moved for her again, its claws grazing her skin, pulling three long marks on her hip.

Pain. It was strangely soothing, joining in with the pain already in her body. She accepted it, and growled at the Metal Head.

Valentine was, in the end, nothing more than a passenger when the Eco took over. She watched how she lunged out, just as the creature flew up. That had been a mistake. Instead of clawing at its throat as she had intended, her nails now drew a long and bloody line across its tender belly. Guts started to stream out as the creature wailed and fell down. Valentine was gushed under by a shower of blood and intestines. It didn't matter, she was victorious. She ended the other scout's life quickly, letting the blood spray away from her as she cut open its long and delicate neck. Though she felt sickened, there was also the rush that only dark and piping hot Metal blood could bring forth.

And then there was a whimper, sounding from behind her back. When she turned around, her now black irises focused on a little, moving shape. It was dark green and brown, not the brighter colors the older Metal Heads had been. When Valentine got up, blood dripped from her hair onto the ground. The thing on the ground whimpered even louder as she got closer, but didn't move. Her Dark Form could smell the fear it emitted, as it tried to somehow seem even smaller. Her heart started to pump faster with the prospect of a kill. It didn't seem like it would put up a fight, but it deserved to die.

'Does it?' she asked herself. To her surprise her body stopped walking, as if it was surprised by her questioning of motives. She could feel the Eco in her body balling together, as if tried to focus. This was new to her. It had never tried to communicate before. Then again, she had never tried to resist it either, only assuming that she couldn't help herself.

In her mind visions of Metal Heads killing people swam up, colored through a dark purple mist. Valentine realized that this was the Eco's answer, it's way of letting her know that she was doing the right thing.

'It's only a baby.' She answered back.

A new image, of Metal Heads attacking children and pregnant women. They did not hesitate to kill. They didn't mind it either, but enjoyed it. She would enjoy it too.

'I'm not like that.' She replied.

Now the Eco played for her her last two kills. She hadn't objected to those, now had she? Nor had she objected to the Metal Heads she had killed before that. And didn't she want to kill Praxis as well? When she was thinking about how she could kill him, she didn't imagine the most peaceful ways to do it either.

'This is different. Praxis deserves it.'

This thing would deserve it eventually. Shouldn't she take advantage and save some lives while she had the chance? It was such a dark and evil thing, there would come a time in its life when it did deserve to die. Just one quick stroke across the neck, and its heart would do the rest of the work.

Her body started to move again. The little Metal Head rocked back and forth, flapping it's little wings in an attempt to lift off. It didn't work, the wings were too small to carry its weight. Valentine watched in horror. If this really did happen, she would truly be a monster. No matter who, it didn't deserve to die right now.

'No. No. NO!'

She forced herself back in control. The change in command caused her to fall back, right on her behind. Her nails returned to their normal length, the dark purple sparks disappeared and her heightened senses were gone. She suddenly felt blind and deaf when that happened, but also relieved. She hadn't killed the little thing. She had won back control. A tingling pain ran through her spine, but she didn't pay attention to it. Minor pains were nothing right now. She just kept sitting there, her hands placed on both sides as she was recovering.

The blood on her clothes and in her hair started to clot. She didn't know how long she had been sitting there, and only a while after the whimpering had stopped did she realize she couldn't hear it anymore. Looking in front of her, she could see the little Metal Head looked at her, the bright yellow stone in its forehead sparkling softly. It didn't make any sounds anymore, but shrank back when her blue eyes focused on it.

'It's okay now.' She said softly. 'I won this time. I won't hurt you. I'm not that much of a monster.'

The creature sat on its haunches looking at her curiously. It probably understood her, Metal Heads weren't so stupid as people believed. They had a hive mind though, meaning they took risks for others of their kind her own species wouldn't.

Rain started to drizzle down. Valentine was grateful for it, as it drew long streaks on her blood-stained skin. Pink drops of water fell from her body and hair. Valentine suddenly felt sad as she looked at the two scouts she had killed. There were more bodies in the valley, and soon they would start to decompose and turn into food for the trees. She wasn't sorry for what she had done, but she did feel sorry for all the life she had taken. And she felt guilty for the part inside her that enjoyed it all as well.

The little Metal Head started to creep closer, until it could touch her feet. It slowly stretched one little paw forward, touching her leg. The warmth from its paw reached through her pants. It looked at her and let out a pitiable growl. The rain on its body seemed to light up the dark green as it moved. It growled again, with more urgency. A rumbling sound followed, and Valentine tensed up before she realized it was coming from its stomach. Astounded she realized it was asking her for food. She realized there were several options, and took the one that although not the most convenient, the best for her ease of mind.

|Valentine's Home|

'You're going to what now?' Jak asked. When he had gotten home he didn't have time to just fall onto the sofa like had become his habit. When the doors had zoomed open he was welcomed in something he thought was the after-effect of the sugar bomb he had been drinking. How else could he have explained the Kid being chased by what seemed to be a baby Metal Head? Before he had had time to pull out his gun, Valentine had jumped him, protecting both of the… little ones.

'You can't raise a Metal Head in the city!' he told her, pointing at said Metal Head, who was being carried by Valentine's protégé.

'Why not? This is a great opportunity to do research. And look how happy it's made the kid. It even gets along with his Crocodog.' Valentine replied, sounding dangerously motherly.

Jak threw a glance to the side. The mute child seemed to be busy teaching the two animals how to sit. The dog fared better than the Metal, who only cocked its head to the side every time the Kid moved his hand down, signaling the sit command.

'It's still a bad idea. We're both wanted, the Kid's wanted, the damn Crocodog is probably wanted. Do we really need to add a Metal Head to the mix?'

'What are they going to do, execute us two times?' Valentine retorted, frowning at Jak.  
'Look Jak, I need this. I… you should know how it feels when the darkness takes over. I had almost killed it. Instead I let it live, and that wouldn't have been much mercy if I had just left it to fend for itself in the forest. I mean, look at it! It doesn't even have any teeth. How is it supposed to hunt?'

'Well, I'm happy it's unable to hunt for now. Can you imagine how much damage it would do?'

'Jak… it's only for a little while. Just until it has grown enough to fend for itself. I can't send it away now.'

'Aaaaah!' Daxter screeched, trying to get the Metal Head away from him. Apparently the little critter had mistaken the Otsell's tail for a chewing toy. 'Get my tail out of your slimy mouth, you little- woah!'

The darkly colored creature jumped up the sofa, carrying Daxter to Valentine, wagging its tail. The wings flapped helplessly to its sides, as if it were again trying to take flight. It made soft sounds, in between a growl and a whine, to get her attention. When she looked at it, it dropped Daxter to the floor, looking oddly triumphant. When Daxter tried to walk away, it growled at him. Daxter stopped moving at once, and took a step back to where it had dropped him. When you were his size, even something like a baby Metal Head was a pretty big threat.

'I think the Kid's been teaching it how to fetch.' Daxter said, looking at Valentine in a grumpy way. Valentine shrugged, picking up Daxter and running a hand past the baby's head. It made funny noises again, before it slipped off to play with the Crocodog.

'I'm sorry Daxter.' She added with a sigh. 'I'll try to teach it manners. The thing is, we know very little about Metal Heads so this could prove to be an invaluable learning experience. More importantly, these creatures thrive on Dark Eco. If I research how Meta's body breaks it down, I might be able to find a cure for me and Jak.'

'A cure?' Jak asked. For a moment he forgot quite how to breathe. A stop to the constant pain, the constant urge to let loose the beast. The chance for a normal life. It was more than he had dare to hope for. 'You think examining… Meta might give us a chance.'

'I can't be sure. I'm not making any promises, but it's better than waiting around for the day when we might not be able to change back. I'm two years ahead of you in this Jak. I've had this in my body for four years now, and trust me, it does get worse. I almost lost it today. You learn from it, but as you learn it consumes you, twists your mind. It gets to know you, and why you do things. And it twists your reasoning around, so you might do what it wants. If there's even the slightest chance of me finding the beginning of a cure by keeping Meta in the house for a time, I'm more than willing to do it. You?'

Jak looked to the little playing creature. It seemed to be harmless enough. It didn't even have teeth, and the claws were sharp but so tiny. It was unlikely it would be able to tear through skin like that. He thought about Keira, and what she had said about the taint. And he thought about Valentine. He had Keira. She might accept the taint one day, he had a chance with her. But Valentine… the day would come when he would spend more and more time together with Keira. Valentine wouldn't be part of that.

She would be alone once again, trapped in a world where pain and anger were all-consuming. Who would take the time to know her if they knew about the Eco? If she kept the Eco a secret and only told about it later, the person would also be offended by her keeping a secret. Samos and Torn were there for her, but they didn't understand. If Jak left her…

She had managed all these years. She would again, if necessary. But if he did have to leave her, he would rather it be in a body and mind that didn't make her hurt so badly.

'Keep it then. Finding a cure would be just what we need.'


	10. Goodbye?

|Valentine's Home, Laboratory|

'Oh, hold still. Honestly Meta, you're not a baby anymore, so you really ought to stop acting like one.' Valentine commented as she tried to draw some blood from the Metal Head. Meta wasn't too keen on anything sharp coming near her, and kept on fidgeting like crazy. Finally Valentine forced the animal still, and drew the blood as fast as she could.

'There, now that wasn't so bad, was it?' she asked the animal.

Meta let out a slow growl, before examining her front paw where the needle had broken the skin. She gave Valentine a dark scowl, licking the unnoticeable injury.  
Valentine rolled her eyes, laying away the needle and storing the little glass tube, filled with blood, in a small refrigerator. Meta had been growing quickly, from a little pup that didn't know which paw to place first on the floor to something that was about as tall as little Mar. Her claws had been growing longer, more dark, and her mouth was now filled with a row of teeth that were as sharp as surgery needles. On top of that her wing span had now increased tremendously, being able to lift her off the ground without any seeming effort. Meta let herself drop to the ground, pulling in her nails so she wouldn't slip on the cold floor, lined with linoleum. There was something arrogant in the animal's strut, and when she turned around the yellow gem in her forehead sparkled.

'You think you're pretty tough, don't you? Well, better not forget I'm still the boss here, you little runt.' Valentine muttered, walking to the door. The door slid open before she got there, and Jak casually entered her work space. Meta immediately started to curl herself around Jak's legs, her way of saying hello. Soft sounds, almost like purring, came from the animal. 

'Meta!' Jak exclaimed, almost tripping over the Metal Head. Meta started to purr even louder when he mentioned her name, before sauntering back to Valentine, where she dropped to her haunches. If she viewed Jak as a member of her hive, then Valentine was without a doubt the queen of it.

'Jak.' Valentine said, brushing her hair away from her face. She saw him less and less lately, and it was eating her up on the inside. Keira demanded so much of his free time, the only time she saw him now was either during a mission, or in the mornings and evenings. Daxter seemed to be feeling a little left behind as well, and he often spent a lot of time with the Kid and Meta now. 'What are you doing home so early? Weren't you supposed to take Keira out to dinner?'

Jak shrugged, scratching the back of his head. 'Well, something came up at her workplace, so we decided to meet up tomorrow evening instead. She's pretty curious about your place though, Valentine. Would you mind if I brought her over?'

Valentine tensed up at the suggestion. Keira at her place? She didn't think she'd be able to survive something like that. It was bad enough watching Jak being lovey-dovey out on the racing track, but doing that in her home…. She could almost feel the Dark Eco in her blood boiling over at the thought.

'I'd… rather you not.' She managed to bring out. 'It would cause way too much trouble with the security system, and in the end it would just mean another liability to my home. I can't risk someone being able to follow her when she comes to visit you. It took a pretty long time for me to get this place as safe as it is now. I mean, I wouldn't be able to do it a second time.' She started to blabber, and she knew it. There was nothing that she could do to stop herself from doing it however. Next to her, Meta had reverted to growling, seeing how distressed Valentine was. Jak hadn't noticed a thing however, and just shrugged.

'That's too bad. I mean, it would have been nice, just the three of us hanging around.' He reached to touch her shoulder. Valentine tried to ignore the little jolt that went through her heart when his callused hand slowly touched her bare skin. He was so close to her… and yet she wasn't even allowed to do anything to let him know just how important he was to her. He belonged to someone else, and that someone else was, unlike her, pure and kind. Not tainted. 

Jak continued talking. 'Well, if it's any consolation to you, Torn did give us another mission. We're supposed to go to the central security base. I'm supposed to get you in and out there, you get the information about the patrols for the next coming months, and then we're done for the day. How late do you wanna leave?'

Valentine looked at him. 'First we eat, and then we get prepared. If we leave around midnight, we should be there when the guards are at their drowsiest.'

|Central Security Base|

'You stay here, okay Jak? Warn me as soon as you see anyone approaching.' Valentine told Jak. He gave her hand a quick squeeze, and a curt nod at that. The warmth in his eyes almost hurt her as he looked at her. He liked her, but he didn't like her in the way that she wanted him to like her. She squeezed back, and quickly dove in the door. Daxter whispered a good luck after her. The room she entered was filled with stacks of paper and humming computers. Even though nobody was around at the moment, the computers were still turned on, crunching numbers throughout the night. A glance at a few of the papers showed her that the codes flashing by on the screen were indeed hers. Someone was trying to unravel them and use them as a basis for the new security coding system. That was pretty smart of them. She wondered who it was.

'Stop right there.' someone said behind her. She heard the click that was commonly associated with a gun being readied. 'Do not turn around, and put your hands behind your back.'

Valentine did as she was told. She could hear the person commanding her come closer. She wondered feverishly as to how the guy had gotten past Jak. When he was close enough, she swung her leg up, hoping to catch the hand with which he was holding the gun. She made contact, and in the moment her assailant was confused, she jumped them.

She looked straight into a pair of confused green eyes. Black hair sticked up everywhere in a messy manner, and when she looked to the hands she couldn't find a gun at all, only a pen. The man was scrawny, tall and had the pale skin of someone who always sits behind a computer screen.

'Where's the gun?' she asked him.

'I don't have one. I was bluffing.' He said, sounding rather dejected about it.

'What did you do with Jak then? How'd you get in?' she demanded, resisting the urge to shake the man.

'I didn't do anything to anyone! I was sleeping in here, and you snooping around woke me up. I just wanted to see who you were. And now I know, you're Valentine, aren't you? You're like the most wanted hacker the Baron ever had on his list. And I can see why, you're insanely good. Your codes are so complicated and yet so fluent, they're the best I've ever seen.'

Valentine was rather taken aback with that confession. She was almost grateful when Jak walked in the room, though he seemed to be just as confused as the man on the ground was when he spotted the two of them.

'Problems?' he asked, pointing his gun at the scientist.

'Not since you're here.' Valentine replied, getting up and wiping her hands. 'He tried to jump me with a pen. Which is braver than I've come to expect from anyone associated with the Baron. Get up you.' She directed that comment to their new captive, before looking at Jak questioningly.

'Some guards were coming through the hall. They turned right before they came here, so I don't think they'll catch us. Still, you'd better keep your mouth shut. Call for help and I'll be forced to make sure you're quiet.' He directed the last part to the scientist as well.

'And you're Jak. I suppose it's no wonder they got the two most wanted people in this entire city to work together. The both of you are one of the best possible combinations that could be possible with the given set of factors. Still, your work is extremely admirable.' He looked at their puzzled faces. 'My name is Jared. I used to work at Computer Station Beta, but I got transferred recently. You.. could consider me a captive here. Ever since Vin turned rogue, the Baron doesn't like the 'brainiacs' out in the city. Could give us wrong ideas.' He cast the both of them a grim look.

Jak and Valentine exchanged a glance. 'So you're not going to try to rat on us?' Daxter asked him. Jared shook his head.

'I need access to the Baron's most top-secret plans. Can you help me get to them?' Valentine asked him. Jared almost nodded, but looked away from her. 'I… I can't.'

'Why not?' Jak asked him, still being more than a bit suspicious. 'If you're the scientist that's responsible here, why can't you help us?'

'Look, the Baron's keeping an eye on my family. I screw up one more time, and he starts killing my people. I can't do anything to bring them harm. You have to understand that.' Jared said, looking at some pictures standing on a desk.

Valentine looked at the pictures. A young girl, two older men and an elderly woman were looking back up at her, smiling. Jared still had a family to protect. What the Baron could use against him, so could she.

'One word from me, and the Underground will bring them all to safety. Anybody you specify. All you have to do in return is get me those codes. Think you'll be able to do that?' she said. Her voice was soft, but her words couldn't have had a bigger impact.

'You can? But how? Why?' Jared almost couldn't get the words out.

'As you said, me and Jak are the top dogs on the list. We're important for the Underground. All I have to do is ask. They'll do it. They can all be safe before the sun comes up, Jared. All you have to do is give me the codes.' She stretched out her hand with her pocket computer. Jared trembled, but quickly accepted her computer. His knees buckled as he let himself fall into a chair, looking at Valentine with a look that could be considered pure adoration. 'If you keep them safe, I'll owe you a lot more than just a few codes. Consider yourself to be having a new ally.' He said softly.

|Valentine's Home, the Evening After|

Valentine could hear Meta growling all the way from the lab. She was so close in developing her cure, she could almost taste it. She was getting closer each day, and being interrupted like that didn't make her very happy. She got up and walked towards the living room, throwing off her lab coat in the process.

Jak was just opening the front door when she entered. Keira walked in, and was immediately stopped by guns pointing at her face. Jak panicked, warning her not to step further.

'That's Valentine's defense system! Ah, don't move. I'll go and ask her for the code.' Jake said, turning. When he spotted Valentine, he sighed with relief. 'Can you deactivate the turrets please?' he asked her.

Valentine stood there like frozen. She whispered to Jak. 'I thought I told you not to bring her here. What is she doing here?'

'I forgot something at the workshop apparently, she was just bringing it by. It's not really that big of a deal, right?' Jak said, looking rather guilty about the whole situation.

Valentine was about to growl something back at him, when she saw Meta sauntering towards Keira from the sides. Keira was watching her and Jak so intently she didn't see the Metal Head coming. Valentine stepped forward, planning on stopping the Metal Head, but she was too late.

When Meta pressed her snout to Keira's hand to smell her the woman looked down. And screamed. Meta took a small step back, flabbergasted at this reaction. Keira panicked, and started to fall back. The guns started to count down, not only tracking Keira but also Meta. Shots were being fired, causing Keira to scream even louder. Being shot at did the same for Meta.

Valentine heard herself screaming the deactivation code, but even after the silence Keira kept screaming. That wasn't Valentine's biggest problem. In the panic, Meta had taken the fastest way away from all the noise and bullets, out on the street. Valentine followed, leaving Keira to Jak.

'Meta! Meta! Get back here!'

Screams started to sound out on the street. Valentine ran out the door, and saw a stupefied Meta standing a bit farther, amazed at all the people that were screaming when they saw her. Then Valentine saw one of the Crimson Guard pointing a gun at her Metal Head.

'Don't you dare! DON'T YOU FUCKING DARE!' Valentine screamed, as she started running. The Guard looked at her in amazement for only a second. That was all Meta needed however. The young predator jumped for the man's unprotected throat, and had him down in a matter of seconds. Valentine ran as fast as she could, and dragged Meta away from the body. She could feel the Dark Eco reacting to the violence, pulsating and demanding to be released. She shook her head, and forced the Metal Head to look at her.

'Meta! You idiot! It's not safe here.' She looked around, and could already see Guards running towards them. The way to her house was blocked, and she wouldn't be able to go back. She looked back to the Metal Head.

'We have to get out of here, Meta. We have to. Do you understand?'

Those strange eyes shone, and Meta jumped up, spanning her tall wings. Before Valentine knew what was happening, the young animal's claws had dug in her shoulder, lifting her up as well. Meta started to fly straight ahead, keeping Valentine's feet above the roofs of the buildings they passed. Valentine screamed to be heard. 'Go more to the left, Meta, more to the left.'

Meta obeyed, flapping her wings. She was too young to be flying and carrying a load at the same time. Valentine could already hear her panting, trying to stay above the firing limit.

'It's just a little farther sweetheart, you can do it!' she said. It was true, she could already see the valve located in the Slums. Meta went down more rapidly now, and Valentine could see the ground come closer at an alarming speed. The wind tugged at her clothes, and she could hear the Guards in the distance. Eventually Meta had to let her go, dropping Valentine from two meters above the ground. She landed with a thump, and Meta landed near her, before running over to check on her.

Soft purring sounded next to her cheek, as Meta seemed worried about any damage that might have been caused. Valentine got up as quickly as she could, looking at the animal.

'Meta, you've got to listen to me. You have to get away from here. There's no way I'll be able to sneak you back in. Everybody will recognize you. You have to go through the valve, and into the wilds, okay?'

Meta shrugged, and scratched her head. Valentine grabbed the scaly head between her two hands, looking into those already familiar eyes. 'No. You're smart enough to understand what I'm saying, there's no doubt about that. Now you have to brave and smart. You can make it out there, Meta. You have to. Go out there, and survive. I want… I need you to be safe, Meta. You're one of the few things I have in this world. I can't live with the thought that I if I tried to keep you with me, that you might die. You understand?'

Meta let out a miserable growl. Her eyes seemed to plead to let her stay. More small growls followed. Valentine imagined hearing the soldiers coming even closer.  
'Go. Go Meta. I need you to be safe. I'll find you. I will come out there, and I will find you. After that, you will never have to be alone again. You are important to me. So please, stay alive.'

The Metal Head licked her cheek, and finally backed towards the valve. Valentine disengaged the security lock, and looked at the Metal Head through tear-filled eyes. When the lock started closing again, she ran away, into the maze of alleyways that was the Slums.

She swallowed back the tears, as she started to make her way home again. There would be a lot to talk about when she got back. Keira had better make sure she wasn't there anymore when she arrived. There would be a lot of screaming, and she was even considering unleashing some Dark Eco.

Keira had Jak. She even had Daxter to a certain extent. She had pretty much everything. As far as Valentine was concerned, there was only little Mar and Meta. And right now she had lost half of what she had been able to consider truly hers to keep. There would be a lot to talk about when she got back.

With a last, violent snort she wiped away the tears that had somehow escaped her. There would be time for weakness later, but now she had to be strong.


	11. The Cure?

|Valentine's Home|

Getting back to her place had been harder than she would have accounted for. Without her wig, she had had to make sure to stay out of the line of sight of the guards. Even if the security cams were set to ignore her face, it only took one guard who had been looking at pictures of her before she would be chased through the city. And this time, there wouldn't be a Meta to keep her away from shooting guns.

She opened the front door, her heart cramping up in her chest. On her way over, she'd had a lot of time to think about what she would do and say. Every scenario she had considered hadn't been satisfactory to her however. The times she hadn't been looking out for the guards she had been biting down on her tongue, imagining things she could have done to save Meta, to keep her trusty little partner with her. But there was one thing she had not been able to control, no matter what.

Keira.

Jak had told her where Valentine's home was. And despite her objections, the woman had come by anyway. She had been the one that had Meta so spooked. If she'd been smart and just realized that there was no way a wild Metal Head would have been kept in a home, none of this would have happened.

As she entered the door, she could hear soft voices coming from the living room.

'You're sure it doesn't hurt much?' Jak asked, sounding worried. Keira replied that it was just a scratch, nothing serious at all. Valentine bit the inside of her cheek when she heard the woman was still in her home. A lone, dark purple spark circled across her arm, down to her fist.

'Out.' It was the first thing she said when she walked in the living room. Jak and Keira, who had been sitting in the sofa, looked up right away. Jak stood up, walking towards her in a hurry.

'Valentine! We were worried about you! Are you okay?' he took her by the arm, trying to examine her. She shook away his hand, filled with anger.

'You. Out.' She growled, ignoring Jak's sound of surprise when she shook him off. He grabbed her by the shoulder next. 'Hey, Valentine, take it easy. I know you're upset, but-'

She turned to him, sharply. 'But what, Jak? What are you going to say now that will bring Meta back to me? This is my house, and I want her-' she pointed to Keira behind her back '-out of here.'

Now it was Keira's turn to stand up as well, hands balled into fists besides her back.  
'Hey, I didn't do anything wrong. I just stopped by to bring Jak one of his weapon mods, and next thing you know I'm about to be chewed up by a Metal Head. It's your fault for keeping a dangerous monster like that in your house. Good riddance is what I would say.'

Sparks flew around Valentine's fists again, so dark that they seemed to be sucking up the light. She turned around with a snarl, walking towards the woman. They were about the same height, as Valentine leaned into her, teeth snapped shut with every syllable.

'A dangerous monster? Meta was completely innocent, something which you would have noticed if you hadn't panicked all of a sudden. I didn't invite you here. I didn't want you to be here in the first place. Yet you show up, uninvited and unwanted and you start to mess things up. Remind me again where you are not in fault.'

Keira's voice rose in anger as she was being accused. 'Unwanted? Jak is my boyfriend, so I think it's pretty obvious that he would want me here. You're the one being difficult. I can come over and see my boyfriend as often as I want, can't I? You're just making things hard, and that's because you're a freak!'

'Keira!' Jak said alarmed, looking at the woman as if he had been hurt as well. Valentine's pupils started to expand at an alarming rate, until the blue in her eyes had been almost completely replaced by black. The light above their heads started to flicker, and Daxter who had been hiding beneath the sofa pillows quickly scurried to a safer haven.

'Freak?' Valentine hissed softly, dark crackles circling her body. It took every bit of her control to not slice the woman's throat right where she was standing. The dark Eco was communicating with her again, showing her images of what she could do to hurt the woman. Valentine recognized them from the time she had almost killed Meta. The visions were shrouded in a dark mist. She shook her head to clear her mind, snarling at herself. 'Leave me alone.'

Looking back at Keira, she grabbed the woman by the front of her collar. Keira's green eyes widened in shock when Valetine snarled at her, every trace of the gentle scientist gone. 'I might be a freak, but at least I'm not a hypocrite. If I'm a freak, what about your boyfriend? What's so different between him and me, huh? Isn't he infected as well? Isn't he just as dangerous, or even more so? Why should I listen to the words of someone like you?'

'Let go off me!' Keira pleaded, kicking Valentine as hard as she could. Valentine ignored the kicks with ease, as the dark Eco suggested ripping open the girl's soft throat. Suddenly Jak grabbed her from behind, releasing Keira and throwing her back in one movement. Valentine landed in the creamy white sofa, arms and legs sprawled out in confusion. When she looked at Jak, she started to growl automatically. The Eco was taking over rapidly, and it demanded blood. Jak had just interfered with her, he had denied her the blood that she wanted. For the dark Eco, that made him the enemy. Valentine could feel herself slipping, but denied the Eco the ability to attack Jak.

'Keira, you should go. I'll take care of this.' Jak told his girl, keeping a watchful eye on Valentine as she got back up again. Valentine looked back at him, defiance in her eyes as he kept his body between her and Keira. As she made a move for the girl, he grabbed her by the arm, swinging her the other way, back to where she came from. A growl escaped her throat as she watched the woman escape her house.

'This has nothing to do with you, Jak.' She lied between her teeth. The Eco was feeding from her jealousy and anger, growing stronger every second. Jak looked at her, caution in his eyes. She wasn't a match for him if he were to change into his dark form, but for now he seemed to be prepared to take her on as he was.

'Valentine, this isn't you. You're better than this. Stop being so angry at something you won't be able to change. Meta will be fine out there. She's a fighter.'

Valentine looked at him, stepping closer. He stepped backwards from her, deeper inside the house. His body was tense, ready to dodge if she chose to attack him.  
'You don't understand anything, do you Jak? Meta only had us. Metal Heads have a hive mentality. Either Meta is going to be assimilated in the hive that's attacking the city, or she'll be doomed to be alone forever if I don't find her. And it's your girlfriend that arranged this for her!'

She jumped for Jak. He moved backwards supply, not even grazed by her fingers. Valentine reminded herself that she didn't want to hurt Jak. Anybody but Jak. She wouldn't be able to bear it if she was the one that would end up hurting him. But he was going too far, stepping between her and her prey.

'And if your girlfriend thinks I'm a freak, what does that mean about you, huh? You and I, we're the same. And we'll be different from everyone else until I find a cure. Without Meta, who knows if I'll even be able to find a cure! What is she going to do then? Accept you the way you are, Eco and all? Or love you 'despite' it, and live every day in secret fear that something might make you snap? I know pretty sure which one she'll be doing. The way we are now, there won't be happy ending. And she almost surely wrecked the chance we have of every being normal.'

She jumped for him again. He stood still, looking at her as she jumped. She was so surprised by it that she forgot to attack in the jump. She bumped into him, her now black eyes looking into his blue ones, forgetting the bloodlust. He smiled at her sadly.

'That's why I need you… to create a happy ending.'

He gave her a hard shove away from him. When she tried to move forward, he slammed a door closed in her face. She heard him lock it, and as she looked around she saw how he had lured her in her bedroom. She started to slam against the door, trying to break through it. But she had designed them herself to be impregnable. They were bullet-proof, and apparently also Eco-proof. She kept hitting her fists against it, sitting on her knees as the lights in the room kept flickering. She didn't notice the way the tears streamed down her face, or how she slowly found her control over the Eco back. All she knew was that suddenly she was looking at how her hands were bleeding while the lights started to burn steadily again.

'A freak, huh?' she asked herself, as the blood dripped onto her pants and the carpet. Even their blood was darker than that of normal people. Another indicator that she wasn't like others.

'Valentine… are you okay?' Jak's voice sounded muffled from the other side of the door.

Valentine looked down at her knees as she answered him. 'If you're asking if I've calmed down… yeah.'

'I want to know if you're okay.' He said, more pressing. Valentine touched the door with one hand, still sitting on her knees. There were dents in the door from where she had been hitting.

'I'll be fine.' She answered, tears still stinging in her eyes.

'Are you hungry? I'll get you your food.'

'I'm not hungry. I'm going to sleep. Good night.'

The door unlocked. She threw her weight against it to prevent Jak from coming inside. 'No.'

'I want to check on you. I'm worried about you.' Jak sounded worried, but he didn't force the door.

'Good night.'

No answer came from the other side of the door.

Jak looked at the door with hurt in his eyes. Valentine wasn't okay, and he knew it. Though it was weird for her to totally freak about the Metal Head, he could kind of understand it. Meta had been pretty important. He stepped away from the door, hoping to hear it open, with Valentine running towards him. He could catch her in his arms, and console her with the loss of the Metal Head. All she had to do was open the door.

When he reached the door to his bedroom, he looked back at her door one more time. He couldn't hear any more sounds coming from there. Jak wondered if she was crying. He pushed his hair back as he thought about what Keira was doing right now. She wouldn't be happy either. It would be up to him to pick up the pieces again. Why was he the one who would have the most trouble again?

Daxter was sitting on the bed, waiting for him as he entered. From the look on his friend's face, he guessed he had heard pretty much everything. Daxter looked pretty troubled as well, giving him a look full of concern.

'How is she?' the Ottsel asked, his eyes on Jak's face in worry.

'Pretty bad.' He answered truthfully. 'Who knew that Meta meant so much to her, right?' he asked, pulling his shirt over his head. Because of this, he missed the look that the Ottsel had on his face when he answered.

'Sometimes… you really do miss the whole point of the matter, don't ya?'

Jak looked up from his shirt in surprise, but Daxter had his back turned to him, crawling in his own bed.

'What's that supposed to mean?' he asked his best friend, genuinely confused.

Daxter remained silent, curling up in his make-shift nest. Finally a voice drifted from his direction, just as Jak's eyes started to fall closed. 'I'm the wrong person to ask that question to, buddy. But… it's not like she'll answer you either.'

|A few days later|

'Are you ever gonna talk to him again?' Daxter asked Valentine, sitting on the desk she was leaning against. The both of them were watching the machine that was testing the antidote Valentine had been developing. She had diluted Meta's blood as much as she had dared, and now the machine was working at testing everything. Thanks to Meta's constant presence in this home, she had been able to get this far. All she needed now was a little bit of luck, along with a lot of genius.

'I don't know. Is he ever going to realize that he should be aware of what I want as well?' she asked as a reply. The Ottsel looked down at his own paws, hands clasping behind his back.

'As far as I'm concerned though, Valentine, you really are the person who's most suited for him. As a friend and as-'

She shut him up with a hand gesture. Daxter had figured out her feelings for Jak, apparently. 'As the fates would have it, that's a decision that two people need to make. And one of those people happens to already be spoken for.' Daxter looked at her in surprise.

'You're not going to fight at all?' he exclaimed.

Valentine shook her head. 'I don't like fighting, Daxter. I would rather… just be left in peace, without being forced to constantly fight for everything. Life would be so much better, if things were done the way they should be. I'm not hard enough for this kind of life. I don't have the drive to fight for me.'

She thought about the Kid, grimly. Little Mar was the most important thing in her life right now. For him, she would fight. If they won this war, and got the house of Mar back on the throne, things might be getting back to how they were. A thriving city, happy people, and no more worries about Metal Heads that might be invading the city at any moment. She and Vin were the only ones of her family left, and Vin was too old already to be anyone's Guardian. That was her task now, no matter how bad she was suited for it.

'I'm the one that has to protect the Kid. That's all that matters. Like my parents before me, I will keep his house safe, and get him back on the throne. Nothing else is important to me right now. I can't let it be more important than my ultimate duty.'

Daxter opened his mouth to say something, but just then the machine started beeping in bright green lights. Valentine shot up straight, towards one of the computer screens. Her eyes flew over the codes, and she couldn't believe what she was seeing.

'It… it worked. I have an antidote… this… it's closing up the cells, Daxter! It's sealing away the Eco…' Her eyes widened in shock as she looked at the screen, slack-jawed. 'I did it.'

Daxter looked at her in surprise, and then to the small vial that had made the machine go tilt. It seemed to be so tiny, a deep, emerald green liquid speckled with dark, shiny crystals in it. Valentine lifted up the vial, almost reverently.

'With this… life can be normal again.' She whispered.

'That's great! Let's call Jak, we'll get the both of you back to normal straight away!' he yelled.

Valentine shook her head, groping around in one of the desks, looking for an injection needle. 'We are not calling Jak back right now. First I need to test this.' She quickly sucked the liquid in the needle, and walked towards the living room. She didn't know what effect it would have, but for now, she was the only person who could test this. Jak had far greater chances than she did at defeating the Baron, so it was only natural for her to risk her life for this. She was the lesser cost when it came to this kind of thing. If she was going to go berserk because of this, she rather wouldn't do it in her laboratory, where there was all kind of precious equipment.

Daxter looked at her in concern as she tied of her arm. 'Are you sure you know what you're doing?' he asked her.

She shrugged, checking the needle for the last time.  
'I'm pretty sure. I'm the best person to be checking this, Daxter. From the two people that are infected with this, I'm the person best suited to test it, and the cheapest cost in case it goes wrong. No use arguing! I know exactly what I'm worth to the Underground.'

She took a deep breath, her hand surprisingly steady. She placed the needle against her skin, resting it lightly against the alabaster skin tone. 'If something goes wrong, call Torn. He'll know what to do. If he doesn't, the Shadow will. And if…' she wanted to say, if she were to die, to tell Jak… tell him what. That she loved him? She shook her head, steadying her hand.

'If?' Daxter asked.

'If something worse happens, take care of the Kid. Here goes.'

Daxter didn't have the time to react as she pushing in the needle. Valentine inhaled sharply, pushing in the liquid. When she was done, she flung away the needle. For a few seconds, she seemed to be okay.

Until she started screaming.


	12. IT

|The Underground, Main Office|

'She stopped screaming.' Torn observed, looking in the cage with a look of concern. The cage hadn't been in use for years, not since they had had to lock Valentine in there the last time. Looking through the tiny rosters he could see how fast she was breathing and how the sweat beaded on her face, streaming down. The jeans and shirt she had been wearing when he had gotten her from her home were soaked, and there seemed to be no sign of it stopping.

'Aren't you going in there?' Daxter asked. 'She might need help.' The bars around the cage were so clustered together that he couldn't even climb up them to have a look, instead resorting to climbing on Torn, who had allowed it reluctantly.

'And get ripped open for the trouble? No thanks.' Torn answered, turning around to face Samos, the Green Sage. The man seemed to be troubled as well, and not just by Valentine's condition. His staff glowed up green as he sat on his bench, brow furrowed in sadness.

'It's not working. For some reason, her body is rejecting the Green Eco.' He almost flinched when he heard her let out a gasp, as she done for the past half hour. At least the crying had stopped. Now there was just the occasional whimper, the cry of pain. They hadn't dared to go near her, seeing how her body seemed to be on the verge of transforming, but never fully going through with it. Samos got up and walked towards the cage, suddenly seeming so much older than he had before that.  
'I don't know how much longer she'll be able to keep this up.' He admitted.

'Shut it, old man.' Valentine's voice came from the cage.

Samos straightened, moving closer to peer through the tiny gaps. Valentine had turned on her side, looking outside. Only her eyes weren't the blue ones that she should have when not transformed. The only trace of blue was a small circle around the iris, the rest of her eyes tinted in that horrible purple black that was a tell-tale sign of the Dark Eco in her body.

'Valentine?' Torn asked, moving closer as well.

Valentine got up, with an uncommon suppleness for the woman as she ran a hand through her hair.

'Valentine?' she repeated, in a mocking tone. 'Please answer, Valentine. We need you. Without you, the Underground would be nothing.' Valentine continued, with a crude smile as she suddenly rushed towards the bars, slamming against them. The heavy steel didn't so much as budge from its place as she made contact. A low growl emanated from inside her as she started to pace the inside of the cage.

'You've learned since I was last in here, haven't you, Torn?' It inquired. It was only too clear that even if It looked like Valentine, for the moment there was nothing of the sweet scientist girl in there. 'Made adjustments for when I had to be incarcerated again.' 

The black eyes looked back at the two men who led the Underground and their furry companion. 'Have you been expecting it for a long time now, Torn? The day I would become insane and dangerous?'

'You're not Valentine.' He answered, sounding as if he had to squeeze his voice through a throat shut with anger and fear.

'Ding ding, somebody get the boy a bottle of champagne. He gets to go on to the next round.' It replied sarcastically.

'What happened to Valentine?' Samos demanded. The woman inside the cage narrowed her eyes as she squinted at the shorter man, before letting out another growl. 'What happened?' he pressed on.

'Why don't you ask the little Ottsel on Tornie's shoulder, huh? He saw just as much of it as I did. Or, maybe even more. I'm usually just stuck inside our little goody two-shoes, until she gets really pissed off that is.' It suggested, trying to pry her fingers through the cage. When that didn't work, It banged a fist against the interlocked bars, only to be rewards with the snapping of fragile fingers. It didn't even cry out in pain. 'Useless.' Was the only comment she could be bothered to say.

When the men didn't say anything, but just kept watching, she sneered softly. 'If you're wondering where she is now, she's somewhere in here.' It said, pointing a finger to her head, and then around her body. 'Somewhere. I can't really be bothered with knowing where exactly. That's more something for her.' It clarified, walking back to the bed and taking a stretch there. Before It sat down, it looked back at the men. 

'Aren't you going to release me soon?' it asked, almost sounding like Valentine. Almost.

|A Few Hours Later|

It lay on the bed, eyes closed and arms folded underneath her head. It was good to be free again, though this body was so damnably weak. The broken fingers itched, and didn't feel like they were mending soon. It didn't mind. It was listening to the music of the hive mind the Metal Heads all shared. The music the Dark Eco sent through the world, a dark orchestra of despair and anger, all around the city. It almost laughed out loud when it found an extremely large concentration of Eco in the town, something which almost certainly belonged to a King. It hadn't detected it before, not being able to leisurely survey the city in a battle.

Somewhere, in the back of the mind, Valentine was trying to break free. Already It could feel small cracks as Valentine kept trying to regain control. But things were slightly different now. There were changes in this body. Even if the scientist had used Metal DNA – an ingenious idea, and something to be complimented in fact – her body would never be able to break down the Dark Eco. And now It was momentarily in control. It might become easier to become the dominant persona now, with a little practice. For now, it was important to learn about the city, in a way that Valentine would never have thought of. It searched for important Eco storages, and where the Metal Heads were most likely to break in. It couldn't see past the Dark Eco field surrounding the City, but that was okay. It was such a wonderful field, making It feel very secure.

Someone was coming down the stairs. Someone with Dark Eco in their body. Not the Ottsel, that creature didn't have enough Eco in its body to be this highly noticeable.

Jak.

Wonderfully strong Jak. It got up eagerly to see this arrivant. Valentine wasn't able to shield her feelings about the young man from It because they were so closely entwined. And It had an interest in Jak too. The man was so wonderfully strong, so wonderfully violent in his own nature. The Eco had only made it more apparent, but the man had a natural tendency to violence. Most heroes had that tendency, it made things so much easier for them.

'Valentine, I came as soon as I heard! Are you okay?' his deep voice sounded through the cage as he pressed a hand against it.

'Jak. I was so scared. I don't know what's happening to me, and they won't let me out. Please help me.' It said, sounding more like Valentine than ever before. She pressed her body against the steel confines, wishing it could touch through the bars, touch Jak. The Dark Eco in his body sang out so deliriously.

When he remained quiet, It continued. 'Jak? Why aren't you saying something?'

'Look into my eyes, Valentine.' He asked her.

'Humph… you're smarter than I gave you credit for, hero.' It answered, annoyed at already having been found out. Passing for Valentine would be much easier if she could just walk around. She wouldn't even have problems with the guards, it was mostly because of her bleeding little heart that Valentine didn't want to take them out.

'I learned from the best.' He replied softly, still trying to see her eyes.

It threw her head in her neck, laughing heartily. 'Did you now? And we can both see how great that has worked out for 'the best', can't we? Locked in a cage, angry at the entire world. And at you. You have a really special place in her heart, you know. If you only knew how angry she was at you these past few days, you would have been scared to be in the same house as her.'

'That's a lie.' Valentine told It, butting in for the first time. 'Being upset isn't the same as being angry.'

It ignored her, focusing on the hero in front of her. She took a step back, spreading her hands away from her body. 'So, what's it going to be, hero? Are you going to save the damsel in distress, from what's been eating her up on the inside for so damned long? Or are you going to leave her rot in a cage while you waltz away with a mechanic girl as you try to ignore the beast you have in yourself?'

'I wouldn't do that.' Jak growled at it in anger. 'Now, let her go.'

'Not my call, hero. I'm gonna level it with you. You see, she was trying to make sure you got your precious happy ending, so she worked extra hard on getting that cure ready. Only… well.' It let out a throaty laugh at this point. 'Looks like she got more than she bargained for. We've gotten a lot closer, she and I in these past few hours. What a wonderful feeling it is too, finally being able to just relax. Fighting gets so boring after a while, especially if she refuses to kill stuff. First she didn't want to kill humans, and then she saved a Metal Head. It's so annoying to be inside of her.'

Jak looked pained when he heard that Valentine ended up like this because of him. He banged a fist against the cage, shouting at It.  
'Well, then just give her back the control! She'll let you out when she needs you to come out.'

'Promises, empty promises. What fun it would be to have the control over your body though. You never hesitate to end a life. You just run out and get it all done in a matter of moments. Even now, I can feel how your heart is beating, how it's making the Eco thump in your body.' It closed her eyes, placing her hands against her chest. 'I don't know how she would ever be able to cure so much anger, you know. From either of you. You are both just simple mortals, but the Eco is the greatest hive mind there has ever been. I can hear it now, singing in you and all around us. Because of the way everybody in this town is using it, it draws the Metal Heads near, and because both these bodies have the ability to conduct Eco, it gathers inside you. Without the Baron, it would have happened slowly, until finally you would have gone mad with rage that you couldn't understand. But now, you can fight, and It can use your bodies to wreak havoc in this world. You both are so much better than Metal Heads.'

'Stop your blabbering. Our bodies are our own, and how we fight is our own choice. Now give me back the control!'

It staggered to the sides, grabbing her head in pain. 'Damn you! I'm the one in power now! Let me keep it, let me listen to the singing of my own!'

She screamed, causing Jak to take a step back as she fell to her knees. 'Stop, trying to control me! You're just some wimpy girl that can't really fight! Without us, you would have been dead long ago. I'm the strongest one here!'

'Like hell you are. This is still my body. You're just someone who's a temporary guest, and you will obey my house rules!' Valentine screamed back at her from the confines of her own mind.

With a final scream, Valentine regained the power over her own body. She was immediately aware of the pain in her broken hand, letting out a whimper when the pain hit her. She could feel how It moved back in her, furiously struggling to be let out again.

'Valentine!' Jak yelled, rushing back towards the cage. 'Valentine, are you okay?'

She ignored him as she tried to orient herself in her body again. She could feel how the Eco had spread in her body, she could feel the pain that it caused more acutely than ever before. In order to calm down she tried to calculate what had gone wrong with the formula. What had happened to make the Eco be closed in the cells, but not be digested in the blood stream as it had been supposed to?

'Valentine, answer me.' Jak pleaded with her, sinking to his knees in order to be at her level.

She looked up from her sunken position, in Jak's blue eyes. She still loved those eyes more than anything, but at the same time she was painfully aware of the distance between the two of them.

'I never could have won, could I?' she murmured softly.

'What?' Jak asked, straining to hear her.

'I said, get Samos. I need to talk to him.' She said, louder this time. He nodded, stumbling back in order to get the Sage. Valentine looked in front of her sadly, down at her broken hand, smiling at how stupid she had been to believe that she could be anything more to Jak than a friend.

|Later|

Torn brought her a cup of coffee, before he squeezed her shoulder reassuringly. She smiled up sweetly at him, hiding her emotions.

'I didn't give you any new scars this time, did I?' she asked him. She remembered most of what had happened in the cell, though she wasn't quite sure about what had happened while they had brought her here.

'I'm happy to say you didn't.' He answered in his usual gravely tone of voice, sounding angry as usual. But when she looked up in his eyes, she could see just how concerned he had been about her. He nodded once, while Samos kept moving his staff around her body as he checked the Eco in her body.

'I can't sense any of the Dark Eco in your body, my dear. Are you certain that it's still in there?' Samos asked, seemingly terribly confused with the situation as he banged his staff on the ground a bit.

'Oh trust me, it's there.' She answered quietly. Daxter was sitting on the ground near her feet, while Jak was casting concerned looks her way every few minutes from his position near Torn's desk. She could feel the Eco, not only in her body, but in Jak's body too. Not to mention the constant whispering in her ears that belonged to It.

'We have to get back to my place now.' She announced as she stood up, draining the scorching coffee in one go. Her bandaged hand lay at her side uselessly as she handed Torn the cup.

'Are you sure you should be going now?' he asked her. She shook her head curtly, as if to dismiss something nobody else could hear.

'I've got it, trust me. For now, everybody is perfectly safe.' She answered, picking up Daxter. She could sense a tiny bit of Eco in his body as well, though it wasn't overpowering at all. He gave her a pat on the cheek as he rested on her shoulder, looking at Jak to come and join them. After a quick goodbye, she left her two friends in the office as she took the stairs back up to the city.

'Valentine, are you sure you're okay?' Jak asked as he touched her shoulder. She looked up at him, keeping her face incredibly calm. She was stunned by this new sensation of being able to feel the Eco all around her. She had never before realized how much the city used to stay up and running. It pulsated until her heartbeat synchronized with that of the city.

'I feel perfectly fine.' She lied to him, making her way to a two-seated Zoomer, leaving Jak to trot after her.

'I feel sorry about the fight.' He said, as he took his place at the driver seat. Daxter sat down in the middle, keeping quiet during the talk. Valentine showed a wry smile at that remark.

'Yeah, I feel sorry about it too.' But she didn't feel sorry about what she had said. Every single word had been the truth, as far as she was concerned. Keira who was so quick about rejecting Valentine was just as quick to accept Jak. If she didn't find a cure for Jak, then he would never be able to live a normal life.

'So what?' It whispered at her.

She ignored that comment, instead focusing on the people in the streets. They were the ones giving the city its heartbeat. They were the ones she was fighting for, next to little Mar. She shouldn't forget that, and instead get over her infatuation with Jak. He was too dense to notice her feelings anyway, though she should be glad that he was. If he ever noticed, it would make things only more complicated.

'I'll be going to Keira tomorrow.' He said softly, taking a turn in order to avoid a patrol. 'There's another race coming up, and I'll be expected to participate in order to bring in some extra cash for the Underground.'

'Sounds lovely.' She replied, softly. 'I'll be using the time to visit Uncle. Maybe he can help me figure out what went wrong. I'm afraid that I'll have to find out what happened with me before I can make a decent antidote though.'

Jak gave her a sideways look, not sure what was expected of him. 'You… you take all the time you need, okay?'


	13. An Old Friend

|Valentine's Room|

Valentine lay in her bed, looking up at the ceiling in as if somehow the answers to all her problems were written on the white plaster. Ever since she had injected herself with the antidote she had tried to make, she hadn't felt like she was exactly herself.

She had tried to come up with a number of very logical reasons as to why she wouldn't be feeling like herself. For one, her heartbeat felt as if it didn't belong to her own body anymore. Instead it seemed to pound along to the rhythm of life outside as Haven's residents went about their own business. Every time she closed her eyes there were purple flashes dancing on the inside of her eyelids.

The second thing that was disturbing her was that she could actually feel the pockets where the most energy was being used. And above it all was the dome of Dark Eco looming above the city. At night it seemed to weigh on her body directly, making her feel as if she couldn't breathe anymore.

Her arm hooked around little Mar as he slept next to her, curled up in a bundle against her side. The most frightening part was It. She could hear the voice in her ears as soon as she relaxed a little bit. It spoke to her in terms of revenge and sweet bloodshed, promising her how good she would be able to feel if she just got up and took some action. Her foot jerked when the Eco in her body made itself more noticeable for a second, the same instant she thought about Jak.

The Kid woke up, rubbing his eyes as he looked around him. Seeing how Valentine looked as she was worrying about something as she lay there, looking up, he sat on his knees next to her. She turned her face towards him, smiling softly.  
'Good morning kiddo. How are you doing today?'

'I'm doing okay, Valentine. But you look like you are having some pain.' He signed at her in his own special language. His big blue eyes were filled to the brim with worry about her, which didn't lessen when she patted his head before she replied.

'I'm only hurting a little bit. It's pretty normal now, isn't it? Please don't worry about it too much.' she offered him her hand, which he gave a quick stroke before he signed again.  
'Are you still angry at Jak too?' he asked her.

Valentine raised herself up as well. 'Now where would you get the idea that I'm angry with Jak?' she asked, surprised at the Kid being able to see so well through her.

'You always look so sad when he is leaving to see his girlfriend. But you shouldn't be sad, Valentine.' He signed at her, trying to seem as serious as he could be. 'After all, I love you. And I won't ever let anyone hurt you when I'm bigger. I want us to be together forever.'

She wrapped an arm around Mar, letting him nestle against her once more, smiling demurely. How serious this child could be, when it came to her. She was his prime protector, until his father could be restored to the throne once more. The man had had to flee the city when Praxis had taken over. Right now, there was no telling where he might be exactly. There were rumors that he was in the Wasteland, being king over a new city. There were also rumors that he had died, or somewhere on the other side of the world.

'Forever sounds good, kiddo.' She muttered back. The boy's breathing had once again evened out, as he started to doze off . She adjusted the blankets around him, trying not to use her still injured had. Torn had come by her house again to redo the bandages. With his military background he could still apply a good first-aid bandage. Breaking her hand had made it impossible for her to perform as DE-girl for now however, meaning they would experience a drop in sales. And with less sales, there would be less money she could donate to the Underground.

She kept staring up at the ceiling, wondering if perhaps she would not be able to find the answers written on there after all. The way her life had been going so far, she could use just a little bit of luck. If not for her, at least for the people she was supposed to be protecting.

|One Week Later, Haven City Outskirts|

'Everybody, come this way!' Valentine shouted from the top of the hill. They had found a beginning Metal Head nest just outside the city. Torn had deemed it too dangerous to just leave it be, and rounded up everyone he could, even Valentine who was supposed to be resting up.

'It'll be totally safe, my ass.' The woman muttered to herself, still waving for the men to come to the transporter vehicle. They had totally misjudged the situation in thinking the nest was completely new. Valentine could already see Torn would have them regroup in order to take care of this later. But for now, everyone had to get their asses out of this mess.

'Gale, you better be ready to get the ship up and running as soon as everyone is on board.' She yelled to the driver. The man made an okay sign towards her, before keeping his hands on the controls as soon as possible. A drop of sweat trickled down the side of his face.

Valentine pointed a gun towards the bigger Metal Heads, picking them off wherever she could to make sure the men would be able to reach the transport. She ignored the little ones, not trusting her aim enough to be confident she wouldn't shoot one of their own.

'If only Jak were here…' she thought gritting her teeth. Krew had him on an important mission for the past few days, making him unavailable for even Torn. The past few days they had hardly seen each other, but he did his best to be as nice as possible to her. She might even start to trust him once again.

She was so consumed in making sure the men were safe that she didn't notice the ground shaking softly as something moved towards her. A huge Metal Head shot up, throwing her off her feet. She fell backwards, rolling down the hill where she had been standing so she could draw the attention of the combatants.

She screamed every time her injured hand slammed into the ground. The thing followed her down, scampering it's huge body down the hill. Teeth clicking, saliva slobbering down on the ground, and tiny yellow eyes watching her every twitch and quiver.  
Lying down on the ground, she raised herself on her good hand. The transport had lifted into the air, and everybody who could get a good aim started to shoot on the centipede-like Metal. Cold sweat formed on her back as she looked into the creature's eyes. She could feel the bundle of Dark Eco in the body of the creature. Deadly, pent-up intent staring her in the eye. On instinct she tried to morph into her Dark form. Dark sparks flew over her body, but nothing else happened. Stunned she lay there, watching the creature come closer to her.

It always worked. Even though she hated to be cursed like this, in the end she could always turn Dark and destroy anything that was threatening her. Why didn't it work this time?

'This is what you get for messing with things you don't understand.' It told her. Valentine could almost feel It smirk to her.

She rolled away from the creature as it dove for her, once again being launched away into the air before dropping back on the ground.

'Do you want to get us killed?' she asked the Eco in her body. She got the faint idea that the energy inside her shrugged at that remark.

'If you get eaten, I'll end up in a Metal Head again. We still have Jak, so it wouldn't be a total loss.'

Valentine scrambled up, running towards the wall. Shots were still being fired, but now the creature burrowed underground. Valentine looked around her, trying to ignore the painful stinging of her hand. If she did get out of this alive, she would tear Torn a new one.  
The transporter kept circling above them, and now everyone with a gun started shooting a wave of smaller Metal Heads that were trying to scramble over the hill, leaving Valentine to fend for herself. She saw Gale, the pilot, glance towards her in what she thought was a rather pitying and apologizing look.

The ground started to rumble. Valentine started to fall back in time now, and didn't get knocked off her feet again. She emptied her gun on the centipede, but that seemed to only make it angry. She ended by throwing it at its head, buying her some precious seconds to get away. She ran away from the fighting, with every ounce of strength she had left in her. A few yards further, she stopped running when a normal-sized Metal Head blocked her way.

She considered hitting it. But even if she still had her speed, she didn't think she'd be able to kill it like this. Tears welled up in her eyes. She didn't want to die like this, eaten by some Metal Head just outside the city. She managed to throw in a lucky punch, knocking the Metal Head away from her.

The centipede had caught up to her however. She managed to fish out her dagger from one of her boots, stabbing the thing in the side of the head.  
It screamed, dark blood pumping out from the side. Raising itself it clicked at her with its mandibles. It hunched over, diving straight toward her. Valentine raised up her arms, trying to shield herself from this inevitable sudden death.

And was knocked to the side by a mass of pure muscle. For the third time in less than an hour, she was knocked to the ground. Her hand felt as if the fractures had become even worse, and this time tears were really rolling down her cheeks.  
She opened her eyes, looking at what had knocked her down. A Metal Head, sleekly built, was standing in front of her. Valentine blinked, not trusting what her senses were telling her. Dark skin, with wings that were slightly paler, outstretched in the harsh light. The Scout Metal screeched to the Centipede, sending the smaller Metal Head packing.

'Meta?' Valentine asked.

Meta turned her head, sending out a short cooing sound, before turning her attention back to the bigger Metal Head. The Centipede started circling around them, and Valentine thought that she could hear Gale coming up with an entire cavalry of guns.

'Meta, we need to get out of here!' she shouted, realizing the members of the Underground wouldn't be interested in trying to figure out if Meta was a friendly or not.

Meta didn't hesitate for a second at this command. Turning around smoothly, the Scout ducked her head underneath Valentine's legs, taking flight before Valentine could say anything. Valentine was seated backwards on her friend, but she didn't care. The Centipede tried to snap at them, catching nothing but air.

'Gale! I'll be fine!' she shouted, the wind snatching her words away before they had left their mouth. Meta kept flying away from the dangerous area, leaving Valentine to gaze about over the ground beneath them. With Valentine's weight pressing her down, Meta couldn't get up very high, but Valentine was still impressed to see how much the Metal Head had grown.

Valentine lost track of how long they had been in the air, but by the time they started to get closer to the ground the sun had started to set. They landed on a tiny space of land in the river, the walls of the city dimly in view. She let herself slide of the Metal Head, immediately being confronted by Meta who started to rub her head against Valentine's head, trying to get the most amount of attention she could get.

'Meta! You're okay! I missed you!' Valentine yelled, throwing her arms around the scaly creature. She was rewarded with more cooing sounds, and wings slowly stroking her.

Meta pulled her long neck back, blowing hot air in Valentine's face. Valentine nearly gagged with the smell of putrid flesh that came along with the breath.

'Meta, how did you know where I was?' Valentine asked. They had gotten away from Gale and the pursuing Metal Heads. Meta cocked her head to the side, pulling up the side of her lip as she seemed to contemplate this question. After a few seconds she shook her head, snorting.

'No really, how did you know? There must be some way.' Valentine insisted.

Meta turned in circles, as if she was trying to contemplate how she should explain this. Eventually she walked back up to Valentine, lowering her head towards her. When Valentine didn't react, she brought her head even closer, until the golden gem on her head touched Valentine's forehead.

At once Valentine was confronted with a tidal wave of images. She could see how Meta had been hunting in the river, followed by an image of herself working in the lab. Images of the Kid, Jak, Torn and Samos flashed by her eyes, followed by things Meta had been doing in the weeks that had passed.

When Valentine fell back on her backside, rubbing her head, Meta let herself sit up neatly as well.  
'Meta… are you saying you can see what I see?'

The Metal Head let out a purr, and rolled it's shoulders. Valentine let out a shaky laugh, standing back up. Meta sitting was about the same size as she was standing now, and she put a hand to the side of her friend's head, stroking the dry scales.  
'You've been seeing everything I've been up to, haven't you?'

Meta purred again, twisting herself around Valentine's legs. Then she hopped off excitedly, returned after a few moments with the carcass of a giant frog she had managed to kill a day earlier. She placed it at Valentine's feet, dropping to her haunches again as she looked up to the humanoid.  
'And you can hunt for yourself now! How wonderful!' Valentine praised.

Meta subtly changed her stance enough for Valentine to get the idea. The woman held her hands out in front of her. 'Ah, no no. I don't eat that kind of stuff, Meta. I need to cook my food first.'  
Meta snorted at this suggestion, curling her long tail around her.

Valentine's wrist computer started to vibrate, forcing her to divert her attention to the tiny apparatus. Meta decided to ignore the action, and started to eat on the dead frog herself.

'DE-girl speaking.' Valentine answered.

'Valentine! Are you okay?' Thor's gravelly voice sounded from the tiny speakers, dripping with worry. Behind him an entire chorus of voices sounded, not in the least Jak who demanded to know where she was.

Valentine answered slowly. 'I'm fine, I swear. Whatever Gale has been telling you, I can guarantee it's not half as bad. Though.. Torn, can I count on you to take care of my hand when I get back?'

A sigh sounded from the speakers, together with a lot of static. It seemed like she was just on the edge of where the transmitters in town could reach her.

'Will you be able to make it back into the city?' Torn asked her, after assuring her he would take care of her hand. Valentine suspected it would be after he chewed her out for making them worry so. She threw a look back at the eating Meta.

'Yeah, I'll make it back. Might not be tonight tough. I prefer daylight traveling, you feel me?'

There were some slight protests from the speaker, but Valentine didn't catch a word from who or what they were saying thanks to everyone talking through one another. She murmured some quick hellos and turned the device of.

She looked around, noticing the small hollowing out in the cave that suggested where Meta must have been sleeping. Walking towards it, she was followed by the Scout, who looked rather ridiculous having to walk instead of flying.

'Looks like it will just be us girls tonight.' She said out loud. Meta replied with a snort, lowing her head until it reached the ground. She opened up one of her wings, inviting Valentine to curl up together with her. As Valentine complied, she found that the Metal Head practically radiated warmth. She wouldn't freeze to death, that was for sure.

On top of that, she found the added comfort that here there was no added static from the city that her body could pick up. For once, she was practically alone in her body, except for the collection of Eco that was gathered in Meta's body. As Valentine relaxed, she imagined that she could feel a bit of how Meta felt, and that the Metal Head must be having the same sensations.

Meta raised her head as Valentine fell asleep. A tension had left her body as now part of her Swarm had been completed. Being alone wasn't good for someone of her kind, and the Caretaker had been alone for too long as well. There had been some images of beings Meta would be able to welcome in the Swarm : The Larvae, the tiny thing her Caretaker liked so much. And the Green One, who had sought to bring some relief from the Caretakers pain.

She had been surprised at the amount of pain the Destroyer had brought however. The female that had chased Meta out of the city was apparently causing her Swarm more harm than she could have guessed. Meta yawned, curling up with her Caretaker between her paws.  
If the Destroyer or his mate came in her path again, she would be sure to take measures.


	14. Battle plans

|Outside the City|

"No, Meta. You have to stay here." Valentine told her friend, holding out her arms so Meta wouldn't be able to sneak past her. The Metal Head let out snorts of frustration, darting around her legs freely. It seemed to be a show to demonstrate that she wouldn't be stopped from tagging along.

"Meta!" Valentine exclaimed, dropping to her knees, forcing the animal to look her in the face. "It's dangerous in there. More for you than from me. I can't disguise you like some dog."

Meta let out a disgusted snort at the notion.

"And I'd like for you to stay alive. Listen… as soon as this business with Praxis is finished, you can come and live with me again, okay? Hey, listen." She grabbed Meta's face again as the Metal Head attempted to ignore her comments.  
"This is important. I can't risk losing you. Stay here. Wait for me. If I have a mission where I need to go outside, you'll be able to come with me, Daxter and Jak."

Meta let out a soft growl at the mentioning of Jak's name. Valentine let out a dejected sigh at that, sitting down on the ground with her legs crossed. She stroked Meta's head with her good hand.  
"Of course you had to pick up on that. Look, it's just a tiny crush, okay? And it's totally silly, because he already has someone and he wouldn't recognize love if it was a Metal King dancing around in tights. He's only my partner for now. He keeps me alive, and I keep him alive. That's it."

Meta snorted again, rolling her eyes. Valentine stuck out her tongue. "As if I'm going to take advice from a Metal Head. Get real, sister."  
Meta looked towards the town gate, cocking her head from side to side.

"You're staying here. I just found out that you're alive, and I won't be standing by as some guards take a shot at you. As soon as Praxis is defeated."  
Meta let herself drop to the ground, facing the gate. When Valentine stepped through it, she made no attempt to run after her, instead whining loudly. The sound broke Valentine's heart, who almost couldn't look back.

"I promised, didn't I? As soon as the city is safe for you, you can come back in."

In the time the gate behind her closed up and the one in front of her opened, Valentine looked at her hand with worry. The bandage was covered in filth, slime and blood, and she suspected the rest of her looked pretty much the same. She rolled her shoulders, happy that Meta had been able to bring her to the gate closest to the slums.  
As the gates opened, she was greeted by a boy who seemed to be hardly of the age to grow the beginning of a mustache. It wasn't for lack of trying however, evident from the three measly hairs on his upper lip.

"Miss Valentine! My name is Reilly, miss. Pleased to meet you, miss."

The boy practically saluted for her. She slapped his arm down. "What the hell do you think you're doing? I'm DE-girl in public, got that?"  
The boy nodded, seemingly scared by her outburst. Valentine pinched the bridge of her nose, inhaling deeply. "Never mind. Did you bring me my wig? And maybe a change of clothes?"

"Yes, mi- DE-girl, miss. Torn thought you would ask for them, so he had me bring some along."

Valentine checked around, not too keen on being spied on by passersby. She ordered Reilly to turn around, quickly changing pants before she draped the fresh top over the old one. She ignored the pounding in her hand as she did so.  
"Where's Jak?" she asked, adjusting her wig in the reflection of the two-seat Zoomer.

The boy straightened his back, clearly intimidated by the mention of Jak's name. "He's out for a mission that Torn gave him. That's why Torn made me come, I'm the second best driver. That's what Torn said."

Valentine gave the boy a quick up and down look, before sitting in the passenger seat. "Then I'll be relying on you, Reilly."

If Reilly really was the second best driver, Valentine didn't even want to know how the others drove. It was strange, because she distinctly remembered several of the drivers before Jak who, while not superb, had at least managed to stay in the same driving line. She gripped her seat belt in fear as Reilly only just in time managed to switch altitudes. She vowed to herself she would learn to handle a Zoomer, just in case. She was a damned scientist, for Precursor's sake! Surely driving a Zoomer wouldn't be that difficult? One look at the control panel brought her to rethink that thought. Maybe after she had rewired the entire city grid to her exact liking. Maybe.

She held back the sigh of relief when they parked near the Underground HQ entrance. When Reilly didn't get out as well, she looked back. He grinned at her, trying to make up for nearly killing both of them by running into a Patrol Car.  
"Torn told me I could use this one to bring my little sisters to school today. Bye, miss DE-girl."

Valentine rolled her eyes, walking down the steps to Torn's office. Even if she had slept soundly thanks to Meta, and the non-presence of Dark Eco, she hadn't had breakfast yet, and her hand was hurting like hell. On top of that she could hear the whispers of It in her ear, like a storm in a glass.

"Valentine!" Torn's raspy voice greeted her. Before she was able to react, the lanky man seated her on one of the bunk beds, scanning her over quickly. Samos approached as well, leaning on his staff as he did so.

"You gave us quite a fright, girl." He said, green eyes scanning over her.

Valentine looked to the ground, ashamed at having made them worry. "I'm sorry, sir. I never was in any danger, I can promise you that. Things just got a little hectic, that's all."  
Torn grunted, pulling out fresh bandages before undoing the ones she had on. He let out a hissing sound when he revealed her hand underneath.  
The flesh had taken a variety of colors, ranging from sickly dark green to almost Dark Eco purple. One of her fingers was standing a bit crookedly, which Torn fixed quickly by snapping it back. Valentine almost clawed his eyes out as a reward for doing that. When he rinsed her hand in what felt like pure alcohol she bit her tongue to keep from slamming him in a wall. By the Precursors, that stuff burnt like Eco!

As Torn bandaged her hand again, the two were surprisingly solemn. "You two are being too quiet. Where are my admonishings? Where's the making me promise I'll never do something like that again, even though it was clearly none of my fault?"

When they kept silent, she let out a hiss. "What happened?"

Torn scraped his throat. "We've received a serious blow, in the night you were away. Apparently somebody tipped of the Guard, or they got insanely lucky, because they've taken a certain amount of our men who were coming back from one of the larger scale missions."

"How many?" Valentine asked, thinking back about how Reilly had said Torn considered him the current second best driver.

"Enough to cripple us severely. They took twenty of our strongest, with twice as many rookies who were in a supporting position. They also got all of the drivers who were supposed to bring them to the safe houses. Only Jak managed to escape them, and he's out there now trying to find out who was the one that ratted us out."

Valentine took a deep breath, trying to clear away the purple that swam in her eyes. 'Sixty men. They got sixty of our men. If we count on driver per two combatants that adds up to fucking ninety. Praxis must be having a field day."

Torn nodded, walking towards the table in the middle of the room. "They're locked in the Palace, in the general area where you and Jak were being kept at the time. Praxis is probably pumping them for information as we're speaking. Who knows how long it will take before one of them cracks."

"We had your friend Jared fiddle with the Dark Eco readings in the dungeons." Samos told her. "The torturers won't know for a while that there working with less power, but it's only a temporary measure to buy us some time."

"Buy time for what?" Valentine asked.

"Relocation. We need to move everyone in the Underground to new safe houses, get new identities, a new HQ… the works." Torn replied, gesturing down at the map.

"That means it will take months before we're operational again!" Valentine shouted, standing up. "What about the mission to recover Mar's tomb? Are we just going to let Praxis waltz in there?"

"Valentine-" Torn started.

"NO!" Valentine shouted. The sparse lamps in the office started to flicker shortly. "We are not letting Praxis kill ninety of our men! We are not letting him desecrate Mar's tomb! We are not allowing his travesty of a rule to continue a day longer!" Valentine stepped towards the desk, sweeping away everything except a map of the entire city.

"I have had it with playing by his rules. I am a Guardian of Mar, like my parents were before me. It's about Precursor's Be Damned Time that I started acting like one. Praxis won't be responsible for doing to someone else what he has already done to me and Jak."

"Child, perhaps you are being too hasty. We don't have the people to-"

"We don't need a lot of people. What we need is a diversion, something to clear out everything Praxis has. Then we have Jared clear the palace power grid, and the remainder of our trained men go in and rescue the captives."

"Do you hear yourself talk, Valentine? There are only a few people in this town who Praxis wants enough to do that, and he won't send out all of his troops to take them." Torn interjected, placing a hand on her shoulder.

She walked around the table, away from his touch, and pointed towards the harbor. "Perhaps, but that's because he doesn't think we're a threat to his power. So far, all he sees us as is an individual insult. Just wait until his actual power is being threatened."  
She tapped on the center of the harbor. "I've been having a stage built here. It's submerged most of the time, so traffic won't be hindered, but it can be let up to the surface in a matter of hours. The beauty of it is that I've been outfitting it with a modem that overrides every singly attached system in town. Every television, every radio, even Praxis' propaganda bots… they'll all be mine."

"What are you planning on doing?" Torn asked, observing the map and trying to see where she was going with this.

"I use the stage to give a sort of unscheduled DE-girl performance, something to lift morale. At least, that's what it will start like. At first, only the televisions and radios will be affected. After about fifteen minutes – when they've dropped their guard – Phase Two starts.  
Phase Two means that I take over secured channels, propaganda bots and every singly system that has a link to the General Grid. Nothing will be independent from me anymore, except a few institutions Praxis has on separate grids. Doesn't matter, because he'll know soon enough what I'm doing."

"Which is?" Samos asked, impressed with where she was going despite the growing madness of the plan.

"Phase Three. I reveal myself as who I really am, and I get him pissing mad. Not so mad that he'll go full force against me, but mad enough to instate the emergency policy. The Zoomer Grid will be disabled, only military vehicles will have flight. Those, and one get-away car I've modified for the occasion. This is the same time I'll have Jared drain the Palace of most of its power, allowing the break-out."

"How long have you been planning this?" Torn asked, looking at the map as she showed which zones would be affected.

"For as long as I could think straight after escaping from Praxis. I've had it with running Torn. I've had it with hiding. I want to be me, the real me, again."

She wanted to have a family again. She wanted to be able to laugh with people who loved her in the sunshine. She wanted to take her place as Mar's guardian as his father rebuilt the city so that everyone would be able to live in happiness.  
"Praxis has been looking for me for a very long time now, Torn. If he shows up, I will kill him. I don't care about careful planning, I will do justice. For the people of this city. For my parents. And for me."

Torn scraped his throat. "What do you need?"

"Two days time, starting from now. Privacy in my home. I'll spend today talking plans over with Jared and my uncle. Uncle Vin knows everything there is to know about the energy grids, and Jared is our inside man. I'll team up with them. You just have to assign mission leaders. Two, one for a group that goes topside, and one that goes through the sewers. A little luck, so that nobody caves in in those two days. And send Jak to me, the second he's back. He's going to be my get-away driver. If Reilly is your second best, the kid would get both of us killed, or worse, captured."

|A Day Later|

"It hurts, uncle Vin. That's all. Just a constant, angry nagging in my stomach like I haven't eaten in four days. And my hand won't heal at all. It's just useless." The hand in question had lost most of the angry Eco color, and she had been lucky there were no signs of blood poisoning. Yet.

Vin looked at her from the screen, his wrinkles magnified because of the zoomed in position."Have you considered resting for a while, Valentine? You have been working a lot lately, and it's not good to not take any rest while you're still healing up." 

Valentine rubbed her good hand across her face, the entire plan minutely detailed in front of her. They had been going over everything, from get-away routes to the best way to reroute the power. She had let her band know that DE-girl was going to be retiring soon. When they had pleaded with her to let them play with her one last time, she had had to refuse. They didn't have the drivers to get that many people away from the scene. Just her and Jak.

"'ll be fine." She lied, peering over the plans one more time. Torn had called a while before, telling her that Jak had finally shown up. "Does Jared know what he has to do?"

"Every second of it!" Jared's voice sounded metallic in the background of Vin's office. Her uncle had him on the intercom, making it easier to talk things through. Valentine wiped her eyes again, feeling as if she might cave in any second.

Half an hour later she finally said goodbye to him, leaning back in the sofa. She went over her checklist mentally. She had dropped the Kid off with Kor, and made sure that her uncle would be sent all the necessary information should the worst happen. In the same scenario the Underground would find they also inherited her substantial savings, along with a collection of musical instruments and a very fine lab.  
Of course she would be fine. She'd just piss of Praxis and then ride of with Jak. And after that, she would start to put in some hardcore work to get the man thrown out of the city, no more playing it easy according to Samos' plan.

The front door slid open, and Daxter's voice was the first thing she heard.  
"Good evening lovely!" his shrill voice sounded, sending stabs of pain through her head. "Goodness, Valentine, you look like someone dragged you through a meat chopper."

"Funny, that's how I feel." Valentine replied, sitting up straight.

Jak followed soon after, relief visible on his face on seeing her as healthy as could be expected. He seemed to be resolved about something as well, the way he was clenching his jaw.

"Did Torn tell you guys about the plan already?" Valentine asked.

Jak nodded, sitting next to her in the sofa. "He did. Are you serious about this Valentine? You're going to be the one in most danger tomorrow. What if something happens to you?"

She waved her injured hand around with a pained chuckle. "I'm a tough girl, I think we already established that. As long as you're there on time, we'll be able to make it out of there without any problems. Other than the shooting and screaming, but I think we're used to that by now, aren't we?"  
Jak put his warm hand on her shoulder. Valentine looked up at him in surprise, in those clear blue eyes that she shouldn't like this much.

"Valentine. I know things have been rough on you lately. And I know I haven't been there as much for you as I could – should – have been. I'm going to change that, okay?"

"What are you talking about, Jak?" she asked in surprise, not knowing where this sudden soft tone came from.

"Tomorrow, first I need to go talk to Keira, and after that I'm coming straight to you. I have something really big to tell you, and I hope you'll be happy to hear it."

Valentine didn't know what to make of this message. What could be really big that he had to talk to Keira about, that she should be happy to hear? She frowned when she thought about it.  
"Hey, no need to frown. I'm telling you, it's going to be great news. Don't worry."

She looked at his happy smile, the way he leaned towards her in a relaxed manner. She didn't understand at all what he was trying to say, but she didn't like the sound of him having to go and see Keira before he came to her.  
Unless… did he mean to propose to Keira, as some sort of way to celebrate the start of a serious battle against Praxis? It was the only option she could think of. She forced herself to keep smiling, suddenly finding tears springing up in her eyes.

" can't wait to hear it." She lied. "Just… make sure you won't be late, okay?"


	15. Too Little, Too Late

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Okay dearies, it recently came to my attention that including song lyrics in a chapter is actually a huuuuuuge no-no due to copyrights and all that... So originally this chapter had the lyrics from 'War of Change' by Thousand Foot Krutch in it, but I don't want to do anything that could possibly, eventually, maybe upset one of my favorite bands, so I took it out.
> 
> That being said, it's still one of my fave songs, so go and check it out if you have the chance!

|Moon's note : before you start worrying, this is not the end of the story, not by far. The lyrics I slipped in are from the song War of Change, by Thousand Foot Krutch (which is one of my favorite bands and their music really fits the whole Valentine/Jak thing if you ask me) |

|Jak |

Jak strode towards the Racing Dome, flexing his hands inside his pockets constantly. For a moment he took a seat near the stairs, trying to relax for the coming hours. In just a little while, Valentine would be starting the fake concert, and then he would be responsible for getting them both to safety. He touched his jaw gingerly, glad Tess hadn't bruised him up.

_"You are a fucking idiot!" Tess had screamed at him. Jak had been stupefied, it was Daxter who had wanted to go to Krew's bar to have a drink and celebrate Valentine being safe. As they had been sitting there, Jak telling Daxter how strange Keira behaved whenever he mentioned his partner, Tess had stopped next to them. Before Jak had been able to say hello to her, she'd punched him in the face and started yelling._

_"I don't get why Valentine would ever want to be with an oblivious asshole like you! Dear Mar, how do you not see how she feels about you? How can you even tolerate Keira talking about her in that way?"_

_Jak had lifted up his hands in defense should she decide to slug him again, Daxter trying to hold back Tess. The two had grown closer, which was probably the only reason she didn't fling Daxter against a wall._

_"What the hell are you talking about, Tess?" Jak demanded, rubbing his jaw and reminding himself that he shouldn't attack the woman._

_"Valentine has done everything for you, including keeping her mouth shut every time you started to talk about Keira, and you still can't see it, can you?"_

Jak thought about how confused he'd been, savoring the sudden break of sunlight in what looked to become a rainy day.

_"Keira used to have a relationship with Erol before you showed back up. There's a reason he's after you more than Valentine. Valentine didn't do any research on Keira because she respected your privacy, though the only reason that snippet of info didn't reach her is because she doesn't hear the gossip on the streets. Haven't you noticed how Keira talks about her?"_

Jak flinched, looking at Daxter in search of support. "Keira is just being jealous, because me and Valentine are so close. Right?"  
Daxter shook his head, letting go of Tess' hands now she didn't show any further inclinations to attack his friend. "It wasn't really my place to meddle. But Valentine has a real soft spot for you, and the situation has been hurting her."

"Then what do you guys think I should be doing? Keira was my girlfriend in the past, I can't just –"

"Just what? Accept that some things happen in the past?" Tess asked him, crossing her arms over one another. "Right now, you should be focusing on the future. I'm giving you one chance to set things right with Valentine, after that, she and me are going to have a heart to heart chat and trust me, your image won't come out of that without some damage." 

Jak got up, ascending the stairs with a grim face. Tess had been right, of course. He should have realized things between him and Keira had been tense. She disapproved of his work for Krew, and although she didn't say it out loud, she also disapproved of his being infected with Dark Eco. Once he had realized that Valentine had been setting aside her feelings so she would be able to cure him – making things worse for herself in the progress – he'd almost smacked himself in the face.

"Jak!" Keira exclaimed, surprised at seeing him without him having called ahead first. She wanted to walk up to him, but stopped halfway the room. "What's wrong?"

Jak threw a quick glance to the clock. He was running slightly late, but he could still make it in time if he raced there. "Keira, we need to talk."

She cocked her head to the side, clearly discomforted by his tone of voice. "Talk about what? Jak, is something wrong."

He ran his hands through his hair. He didn't want to hurt Keira, but he did have to stop hurting Valentine. "Keira… you noticed too, didn't you? How things are between us? Sure, we go on dates and everything, but we don't have anything to talk about anymore."

Keira looked at him in worry. "I guess, but that's only for now. Once you're cured, everything will go a lot better."

"Cured?" Jak looked up in surprise. "How am I going to get cured? Valentine tried, and look at what happened to her. What if this is a thing I'm stuck with for life?"

"You won't be! You can't be! I'm sure someone will find a cure, that partner of yours, or-"

"Her name is Valentine!" Jak bellowed at her, anger suddenly flaring in his stomach. "And she's been sacrificing herself because she thought I was the only one of us two who would ever have a shot at a normal life!"

"Isn't she right about that?" Keira asked, tears springing in her eyes. "Who would ever want to be together with a person like her?!"

Jak straightened up, fists clenching at his side. "A person like her? You mean me? Is it really that hard for you to be together with me?"

"I didn't mean it like that!" Keira exclaimed. Jak growled, turning towards the exit.

"Whatever! This is over Keira! I have to go now, something important is going on." He was stopped dead in his tracks when the door closed in front of him and refused to open. He turned around, anger in his eyes. "'What are you doing? I have to leave right now! Open the door!"

"Not until we talk this out, Jak! You're important to me!" Keira shouted back, just as angry as he was.

|Valentine|

"He's not here yet." She mumbled, touching her wig for the second time in ten seconds. Daxter was standing next to her, looking out over the harbor. Whenever a guard passed by – usually to request an autograph – he ducked between some speakers to avoid being spotted. The Ottsel looked to the Zoomer that she had engineered for this day.

"Don't worry too much, sweet cheeks. He'll be here, you'll see."

Valentine looked at her wrist computer, to tell the time. "If he isn't here in a few minutes, I'll have to start without him." Her heart started to hammer in her chest when she realized what that meant for her. Back to the dark, damp dungeons, scientists deconstructing her body to see what made her tick. Praxis wouldn't bother keeping her alive anymore if he still had Jak running around as a second prototype. Her hands started to shake as she fought the sudden fear.

"Valentine… are you okay?" Daxter asked her. She nodded, biting her tongue to keep herself in check. "I'll be fine. No worries. Shouldn't you be going to shore? Go watch the show with Tess." She wanted to add 'where it's safe.' but couldn't get the words out.

Five more minutes.

She opened the wrist computer, calling her uncle Vin. He greeted her with his usual nervous streaks, interrupted by the Kid who was in his Station for the time being.

"Valentine? What's wrong?" he asked her, eyes constantly flickering from side to side. "Shouldn't you be singing already? When are you starting?"

"Jak's not here yet. Uncle… I don't think he's coming." She said, trying to ignore the stabs of pain in her left hand that still hadn't healed.

"O-O-Of course he's coming!" her uncle managed to wring out, hands fluttering to all sides. "He knows how important this is, doesn't he?"

"Maybe he has more important things on his mind." She told him. Like being with Keira.

"Can I talk to the Kid for a little bit?" she asked. With every second that passed, she could already predict how this would end. In a dark, tiny cell for the remainder of a pained life.

The Kid appeared on the screen, waving at her cheerily. She smiled back at him, forcing back sudden tears. "Hey kiddo. Look… I have something important to tell you. I won't be able to come and pick you up anytime soon."

'Why?' Mar signed at her, looking confused. She had told him earlier that she would be certain to come back to him as soon as possible.

"Important business. I have to protect everyone in this city, don't I? I have to protect you as well. No need to worry about me, I'm a big girl already . I'll be fine."

The Kid looked confused at her words. He could probably see the tears forming in her eyes. "Valentine, you're hurting! You should come back here, we could eat ice cream together. Please?"

She shook her head, closing her eyes for a second. The time on her watch was counting down. Resolve formed inside her, resolve to keep little Mar safe from Praxis. She signed with one hand, making sure to seem as cheerful as possible.

'See you later, okay? I love you.'

Mar started to cry a little bit. Yet he still managed to sign back to her. 'I love you most of all, Valentine.'

When her uncle appeared back on screen, Valentine had the hard look on her face her mother had had before she had been shot by Praxis' men. "Uncle. I probably won't be seeing you again. Thank you for taking care of me. Sorry for being such a mess."

"Valentine! Listen, you don't have to go through with his! Nobody will blame you, nobody can ask this from you!"

"I would blame me! I wouldn't be able to live with myself! We stick to the plan uncle. Don't let the Kid see the screens! Don't let him know what happens to me. If it gets… too bad, stop watching as well, uncle."

"Valentine, don't! We can-"

"We go through with this! Now, uncle!"

Her five minutes were up. She switched off the wrist computer, turning to Daxter. He looked up at her with a surprised expression. "Valentine, what's wrong?"  
"I'm doing this for your own good, Daxter." She told him. She clicked the wrist computer loose, sliding it across the Otsell's body, trapping his arms. He started to yell at her, until she shoved her handkerchief in his mouth, careful not to choke him. After tying up her legs as well, she placed him among some cables, away from the speakers.

Daxter's eyes looked up at her, pleading to stop what she was doing. She covered him with a white cloth, to protect him from the sun. "It's okay, Daxter. I'm the only one who can do this. Don't worry about me."

She walked towards the microphone, taking it in her good hand. She looked up to the sky, wondering if this was the last time she would see the world outside. She considered ending her life herself if she got caught. It would certainly show Praxis. She nodded to herself, forcing the fear to end. She forced herself to only feel the anger, the fury at what had happened in this city.

"Hello, dear residents of Haven City. I am quite sorry to take over everything like this-"

|Jak|

"Keira, open the fucking door! I need to get out there!" Jak yelled at her, advancing towards her. He could feel how the seconds were ticking away. He needed to be there on time, there was no other way. He wouldn't let Valentine be hurt over something as stupid as him being late.

"No! Why would you want to break up with me? Why can't we be happy together?" Keira pleaded with him, trying to win him over once more.

"Just now you made very clear nobody would ever want to be together with someone like me or Valentine! So who do you want to hang on to me?" he asked, grabbing her by the wrists. The look on her face was one of pure fear, and he realized he was underway of transforming.

"Because of what we were! If you can be just cured again, then everything will go back to the way it once was!"

"I CAN'T BE CURED!" he bellowed at her. She yelled out in fear, almost dropping to the ground if it hadn't been for Jak holding on to her fists.

"Why does it have to be her?" Keira asked, tears finally spilling from her eyes.

Jak couldn't believe the question. "Because, she accepts me. She trusts me, even if I'm infected."

He let go of her, turning towards the door. As he walked towards it, he spoke. "If you don't want me breaking that door down, you will let me pass through."

The door opened just before he smashed through it. He didn't look back at Keira. Perhaps after today they would be able to talk it out, but right now he needed to get to Valentine. He hoped that she would keep waiting for him, that she would risk the mission to wait for him.  
Her voice rang out over the plaza as he jumped up his bike. "Hello, dear residents of Haven City. I am quite sorry to take over everything like this, but I have some important things to discuss with you."

He swore, jumping on the nearest Zoomer he saw. He started it by running his thumb across the slot, like Valentine had shown him on the very first day they had met. He still had time, he could still make it.

"Haven City is in a very sore condition. Do you want to know why? There is a certain faction that makes life impossible for every well-meaning resident of this city."

He took a sharp bend, seeing Valentine's face on a screen as he shot by. He HAD to make it. He clenched his teeth, bending over the Zoomer in an attempt to go faster.

"I am, of course, talking about Baron Praxis and his goons."

This sentence captured the attention of the guards. They started to point to the screens, and the noises of the street quickly quieted down as Valentine continued her speech as DE-girl. Every word she spoke sounded like a hammer to Jak, time ticking down until the Zoomers would be powered down.

"Praxis has taken over this city by illicit means. He drove out our rightful ruler and killed anyone who attempted to stop him. Others he captured to be used in experiments to create super soldiers."

"How do I know this?" her voice reverberated around town, beating down on him. She was looking straight in the screens now. Jak could see tortured blue eyes peering over the city. If only he could go faster…

"Because I am one of those people. What would Praxis say if he heard DE-Girl was in reality one of the most wanted people in Haven? What do you think he will do if I would reveal I am… Valentine Ashanti, last of the Guardians of Mar?"

She let her wig drop to the ground. Jak could hear the crowd gasp, with a few hoots and cheers scattered throughout. Only seconds after that his Zoomer started to lower speed, dropping to the ground. An alarm started sounding, before suddenly being turned off.

"I'm sorry… alarms are so annoying, wouldn't you think?" Valentine spoke, smiling as she looked over Haven city.

"You may be doubting the truth of my words, as is your right. After all, for years you have been told I am a criminal, a freak. In order to show the truth to my words, I have taken the liberty to prepare a few videos."

Screams followed her words. How she had gotten the footage nobody would be able to guess. Apart from old videos of what Jak assumed was when the town had been taken over, there were also more recent videos. People being ambushed in the streets, pictures of people who had gone missing. Valentine named every single one of them, along with the crime they had been accused of.

He was running now, as fast as his feet could carry him. Every around him her voice sounded, listing names of missing people. It felt like a bad dream, one where you couldn't get away from the monster because your feet feel frozen to the ground.  
He prayed he would wake up soon.

|Valentine|

She sent out the signal to destroy some of the unmanned oil rigs. If she hadn't gotten Praxis' attention now, it was because he was already dead. A screen in front of her played the videos, allowing her to see once again what Praxis had done to the city. In the older videos, she had talked to the people who had been captured in the street. They had been with her, down in the darkness. They had suffered like she had, but their bodies hadn't been able to cope.  
Every new video she had etched into her memory. She knew their names. She knew the names of their families. She knew the utter bullshit their supposed crimes were.

Soldiers hovered above her. Their bullets were stopped short by the shield she had erected around the small arena she was standing in. It would hold anything that came from outside with a high speed. The soldiers would have to step inside here to come and get her.

"For those of you who don't believe me, look at what will be happening from now on." She said in the microphone, before dropping it to the ground.

The first wave of men walked through the shield. She recognized the gun one of them was aiming at her. It was designed to shoot a shot of Dark Eco into a suspect's body, tasering them into submission. The man took aim and shot her.  
In the second before it hit, she could feel how the Dark Eco inside of her seemed to whisper. 'No.'

The impact sent her back a pace, but there was no release of Eco. The man on the other side of the wires seemed to be stupefied. Valentine thought she could feel how the Eco was supposed to move across the wires.

The moment she considered it, the man with the gun started to have spasms. The men around him looked at him worriedly, before pointing their own guns at Valentine. The pins entering her body hurt her, the impact still throwing her back, … but the Eco didn't harm her. Instead she sent the waves through the guns, punishing the men for their audacity.

"If you stop this now, I will spare you!" she yelled at them. "I will let you go home to your families. The only people I want are Praxis and Erol."

The second wave of soldiers hesitated outside the barrier. They looked at her and at each other, clearly not wanting to step in to face her. Meanwhile Valentine could feel the Dark Eco resting inside their guns. She realized the guns wouldn't be able to hurt her if they were supposed to only slow her down. She felt almost giddy with the realization, along with the anger and sadness that Jak wasn't here.

'"You asked for me?" Erol said to her, pushing the soldiers in front of him out of the way. He stopped opposite of her, lifting up the visors of his helmet so he could look her in the eyes.

"What, no Praxis?" she asked, bending down to retrieve her knife from her boot. She had longed for a chance to face the man who was responsible for how she had turned out.

"You'll have to do it with me, bitch." Erol told her.

"That's okay. I'm just surprised you were able to pull your tongue away from Praxis' ass long enough to come here." she replied.  
The cameras were still rolling, this entire fight was being broadcasted across the city. She hoped the people would remember their lost loved ones, remember their names. She hoped they would remember her.

|Jak|

He stopped at the barrier, angry it wouldn't let him through. There was nobody else trying to make their way through, everyone had realized it was impossible. He could see the podium where Valentine was standing in the distance. The energy shield was the only thing keeping him from perhaps saving him.  
He banged his fists against the clear sheet of energy, fear for Valentine pinching his throat closed. He could see Erol closing in on her on one of the screens.

The man shot at her, and Valentine simple stepped sideways as if this happened every day. The speed at which she moved was incredible. She swung her good fist at his face, knocking him on the ground. Jak clenched his fists, cheering her on. She had to survive this!  
One of the soldiers shot her with another taser, throwing her back a few steps again. The man was rewarded for his effort with painful convulsions before Valentine ripped the pins out of her shoulder.

She lunged for the once again standing Erol, the knife aimed at his face. He nearly dodged her, throwing his own arm to the side. Valentine was hit to the side of the face with the gun in his hand, falling to the side. She attempted to scramble back up, but was stopped when he grabbed her injured hand.  
Jak tried to close out her scream as Erol squeezed her injured hand. She was helpless, but still attempted to swing her knife at him. Jak could see the small cut she made just below Erol's eye on a nearby screen.

He started to punch the energy screen again. "It's not fair!" he screamed. "She's not a fighter! Leave her alone!"

's about to change

|Valentine|

Valentine felt bile rise up when Erol kicked her in the stomach. She told herself it didn't matter. The damage she had done to Praxis' reputation and assets was worth a bit of pain. She tried to transform again, but her body wouldn't let her. Erol lifted her up by the hair with one hand, still keeping her broken hand firmly in his grasp.

"You're still as weak as the day we caught you. Haven't you grown up a little bit?"

She spat at his face in reply. He flinched when her bloodied spit flew in the cut on his face.

"Doesn't matter. We'll be teaching you some manners soon enough." Erol said, snapping his fingers for handcuffs. Before Valentine could bite her tongue off, so she wouldn't have to suffer the research again, Erol reached in her mouth, making sure she couldn't close it. The metal of his armor made her gag.

She suffered being gagged, before a black bag was pulled over her head. For some reason she was unable to cry. Fear had left her body, leaving her only with a burning rage. It was Erol who yanked her up by her hair, forcing her to stop a moment before they would fly her off to wherever they would be sending her.

"If you tell us where Jak is, I promise you'll get a cell with daylight."

Valentine froze up when she thought about Jak. She knew where he was, he was with Keira. He wasn't here to help her get away. He would never choose her. He'd left her to be captured. The idea stung, bring hot tears of anger to her face. She wouldn't rat him out, her honor wouldn't let her.  
But if she survived, he had better not come across her ever again.

She shook her head violently to make clear she wouldn't tell. Erol spat orders at the men surrounding them.  
"Take her to the transport. The Baron wants her in the Desert Facility by midnight."

|Jak|

Jak couldn't believe what had just happened. They had taken Valentine. He could see the soldiers herding her in a transport car while the shield was still intact. Valentine had sacrificed herself so Torn would be able to save the Underground.  
He dropped to the ground, unnoticed by the people around him who were discussing what had just happened. Any other day the words they were saying would have given him courage. Several of them were angry at Praxis, vowing revenge for missing friends.

"It's not fair." He mumbled. He hadn't thought he had any tears left, yet now a single one managed to trail its way down. It stopped near his mouth as he felt guilt was over him.  
"It's should have been me. Not Valentine." He realized everything Valentine had done for him. Everything she had hidden from him so he wouldn't feel guilty.  
'It's not fair…'


	16. Escape

|Valentine|

The Patrol cars that had been designed for the transport of prisoners were the best money was able to buy. Triple layers of steel, a smooth engine and several weapons were all on board, as well as built-in cuffs. Valentine was being subjected to the latter now, bag still over her head. She chewed on the gag in her mouth, feeling more furious than one could attribute to Dark Eco.

She had to feel angry. The moment she would stop feeling angry was the moment fear would overtake her. The cuffs around her hands and feet were stronger than she could have anticipated. Erol's voice sounded next to her when she tried again to jerk them loose.  
"Don't bother trying. These were designed for your freak friend in a fully transformed state. You wouldn't be able to even dent them."

Valentine ignored him, giving another jerk. 'I am not afraid anymore.' She reminded herself. She had freed herself from fear the moment she had decided to go through the plan without Jak. She concentrated on the feeling of Eco around her, to see if she would be able to control it like when the tasers had been shot at her. She could sense the Eco, but the steel encasing them was too thick to allow her to do more than vaguely sense it.

They pulled to a stop, and the cuffs around her hands and feet came loose from the floor with a hissing sound. Two soldiers grabbed her by the arms, nearly carrying her along the way. With her feet bound and the sack over her head, Valentine wouldn't have been able to walk on her own anyway.  
Salutes and orders were barked as they moved. Valentine was surprised they were going up instead of down towards the cellars. Though that probably didn't mean she was off the hook just yet. The more they went there, the more a chill nipped the air.

She was seated down roughly on a chair. The chains on her feet hissed again, sinking into a lock on the floor.  
"Tell the Baron we have her. He'll want to interrogate her himself." Erol commanded someone. Valentine heard heavy boots walking away, before the sack was pulled from her head.

Bright lights blinded her and before she had blinked, an armored hand struck her against the jaw. She cried out, not able to completely lean to the side due to her handcuffs being stuck to the chair as well. She looked up into Erol's face, who gave her a grim look.  
"I should get you warmed up before the Baron gets here. The sooner you talk, the faster we can have this all over with."  
Valentine shook her head, slowly. She was rewarded for the effort with another smack across the face, this time sending her to the left instead of to the right. When she was looking straight up again, Erol flexed his hand. "You always were a tough little bitch."

"Sir, Commander Ashelin wants you to check a disturbance in the science department. There seems to be an uproar due to the subject's performance." A soldier said, face hidden underneath the black and red mask. 

Erol let out a deep sigh. "Very well. I'll try to make it quick, so the Baron won't have to wait too long before you start talking."

Valentine watched him leave the room. She looked around for a few seconds, but apart from the chair there was no other furniture. The walls were a depressing gray, and apart from the door there was no other way out of here. She went back to chewing the gag and yanking at her cuffs to keep herself busy, and to focus on something else beside the pain Erol had just caused her. She had to escape on her own this time.

When the dark grey door opened, she let out a growl from behind her gag. Ashelin had just entered, looking at her with a sad look. Being the Baron's daughter, Valentine had never held much affection for the woman, despite Torn's obvious infatuation with her.  
"Valentine… we need to talk. Can I trust you not to bite your tongue when I take out the gag?"  
Valentine's big blue eyes scrutinized the woman warily. Finally she gave one nod, at which Ashelin immediately removed her gag.

"What do you want with me?" she asked curtly, giving the cuffs another yank for good measure.

"I want to help you get out of here." Ashelin told her. The redhead looked to the side. "You're a good friend to Torn, and it isn't right was my father did to you."

"Right, and Dark Eco is actually made from kittens and rainbows. If you're going to help me escape, get me out of these cuffs and set me on my way."

"You'll never make it." Ashelin stated. "From here on out there's a corridor a hundred yards long with men stationed on every available inch. And you are in no condition to fight your way out of here."

Valentine ignored her throbbing cheeks. "Try me." After a few seconds of silence she spoke again. "So, what's your great plan, if you're not breaking me loose here?"

"My father is going to transport you to one of his facilities in the Wasteland. Once you're in there, there is no way out."

Valentine let out a weary chuckle. "Let me guess… no way out of here, no way out of there… the transport?"

Ashelin nodded. "I believe you know Jared? He's rigging the car that's transporting you there with an explosive device. It'll explode once you're at an optimal point, leaving you in the Wasteland. Once you're out of the car, you use this."

Ashelin showed her a tracker device, before slipping it in Valentine's left shoe. She made sure it was safe there. They would have to undress her in order to find it. "They already checked you for sensors when you came in here, so they won't be checking again. Once you activate it, he will come for you."

"He?" Valentine asked.

"Damas. He's still alive, and he has a city there were he collects everyone he thinks is useful. I have no doubt he'll accept you." Ashelin said, looking back to the door nervously. Erol had been gone for a while now.

"My king…' Valentine whispered. 'How will I face him? I failed in protecting his son, I got captured."

"You didn't fail, Valentine. You were willing to sacrifice yourself in order to save a lot of others. If anything, he will commend you for that." Ashelin paused. "There is one other thing."

"What?"

"It is still an hour before the transport leaves. My father will try to make you talk in the time that he has. Don't tell him anything."

Valentine chuckled again. "An hour? Last time he had me for four years. An hour will be nothing."

Ashelin looked at her in worry. "I hope so. I have to leave now, they can't see me in here. Keep strong, Valentine." Ashelin said as she gagged the woman again.  
Valentine nodded once, before she was once again left alone in the room.

She tried to steady her breathing. She had to keep her panic under control. She could make it through an hour, she had had worse. She was living worse.  
Her heart leaped in her throat when she heard new footsteps coming closer. Her broken hand throbbed violently with the pulse of Dark Eco.

"Praxis." She hissed, putting every ounce of contempt and utter hatred she had into the word as soon as Erol undid her gag. He nodded once towards her, waving a hand at Erol. The man left them, walking stiffly as if he didn't want to miss a moment of what would happen.

"Child. You have been quite a handful these last few years, haven't you? I can list at least thirty crimes this year alone you committed, without even looking at your file." Praxis said, trying to sound pleasant.

"I'm not a child anymore!" She spat at him, angry.

He struck her, harder than Erol had done. She had trouble seeing again as she struggled up. "You are still a child." Praxis told her. "A child who is fighting someone who only has the best interests for everybody in mind."

"Remind me how pumping me full of Dark Eco was in my best interest?" she asked him venomously.

"To protect the city. Now that we have you back, we can go back to researching how to create super soldiers who can defeat the Metal Heads with ease." Praxis told her. Erol had returned with a chair, which he placed down in front of Valentine so Praxis could take a seat.

"Big words, coming from the guy that's giving them Dark Eco." Valentine answered coldly. "You usurped my lord's rightful place, and are hunting his son. I will never give you what you want."

Praxis placed a finger on her injured hand, pressing down. Valentine clenched her teeth together to stop from screaming. "But you will. Now, or in a year. Tell me, where is the Underground? How many people?"

"Drop dead!"

Praxis placed full force on her hand. Valentine let out a scream.

"Now… tell me.' he commanded.  
"Band-width can be saved by compressing the files with gzip-"

Praxis pressed again. She screamed.

"Tell. Me."  
"If one ignores the content-coding systems and bypasses the server security systems-"

Erol punched her in the stomach. She was too late to prepare for the hit, heaving once it had been delivered.  
"One can manipulate the TTY layer –"

|Later|

One hour later Valentine was hauled into the military Cargo Bearer that would transport her to the mystery facility. Covered in bruises, gashes and her own blood, she was certain she made a pitiful sight. They had gagged her again, adding the bag for good measure. She felt the car taking off into the air, and thought about Haven City.

She hoped the Kid was okay. He was probably crying right now, but he would get over it. If King Damas indeed ruled over a city in the desert, she should be able to convince him to let her go back and retrieve the boy. Her face hardened when she thought about Jak. He had left her to die, or if not her, a good part of the Underground. She had thought she could trust someone who had been through the same things as she, but apparently not. If she ever saw him again, she would have to take measures.

The ride was noisy enough as it was, but apart from that utterly boring. The only two guards that had been assigned to accompany her were in the front of the vehicle.  
What felt to be hours later there was suddenly a thunking sound, followed by an explosion in the front compartment. Valentine could feel the Bearer crashing down, bracing herself for impact. As soon as the power circuits were out, her cuffs loosened with a hissing sound again.

She pushed herself up on one hand, ignoring the pain. A particularly nasty gash under her eye – payback from Erol – started to sting when sand started to whirl around her as she pulled the sack of her head. Undoing her gag, she looked around. The sun had just gone down, painting the Wasteland a vicious red. Nowhere around her was any variation on the monotony of dunes stretching. She flinched, looking back when the sound of metal moving was audible.

One of the soldiers had been killed by the impact immediately, his body torn in two. She could see his legs a bit away from her, the upper half nowhere to be seen. The other one seemed to have survived, just now climbing from the wreckage. Valentine swore under her breath, letting herself fall down again. She was hardly able to move, let alone actually fight. Her stomach ached from several punches, and her throwing up in reply to those punches.

She could hear the man scuffling closer to her. She tried to seem dead, evening out her breathing. The man gave her a push with his gun.  
"Research subject alpha, get up." He told her, voice cracking through his speaker.  
When she didn't react, he gave her a small push again. "Subject alpha, get up now."

When the man let out a cough, Valentine realized he must have been shaken up pretty badly. He coughed again, this time splatting warm blood on her arm. If he was coughing up blood, his injuries were pretty severe. He let himself plop on the sand next to her.  
"'This is how it ends." He said out loud, dropping his gun next to him. "Sole survivor of a crash."

Could she attack him before he reached his gun? That was the main question. If she lay down here long enough, the sand would eventually bury her. Despite the sun already being gone, the air was still hot and bone-dry. She kept her breathing even, trying to find out how she was going to be able to put force in a weakened condition.

"What was that?" The man suddenly said, turning around. Apparently he could hear something she couldn't in her position. As the man scrambled up, she relaxed for a moment, before she realized what the problem was. She could feel Dark Eco near them. She hoped it was Meta, and not a random Wasteland Metal. Dying like that would only be second worst to dying in a lab run by Praxis.

She listened as the man got up, readying his gun. Her mind started racing. If the man shot at Meta, there was a chance her friend would die. And even if she were to help a random Metal Head, it wasn't like she would be hurting her own chances. The blob of Dark Eco started to move closer, until finally Valentine couldn't take it anymore.

"Hey, asshole!" she tried to yell at him. Her voice came out in a squeak, and particles of sand found their way past her chapped lips. It was still enough to confound the soldier, who looked down at her in surprise for a second. The second was all that the Metal Head had needed, jumping him. Valentine could feel hot blood spouting on her body, growls coming from the battle. In a few seconds, it was all over. Valentine worked herself up with her good hand, looking to see what had happened.

Meta immediately pushed her face against Valentine, clearly distressed by the wounds that were visible on her friend's body. A slightly rough tongue washed a splash of blood from Valentine's face.  
"I'll be fine. I just need to-" she cracked, bringing her hands to her boot. Meta soon caught on, pulling the boot away from Valentine's foot. The tracker fell in the sand, before she picked it up and pressed the button. It bleeped once, before a bright red light started to flicker at regular intervals.

"And now we wait." She told the Metal Head. Meta had probably followed her transport the moment she had left the city. "Could you find me some water?"

|Damas|

Damas always went out with the patrols when they got a beacon signal. Somebody knew they were in this desert, but they hadn't alerted Praxis about it. Instead, every once in a while, an outcast would be holding a signal they could track. Sometimes it was a person they could use, most of the times it was the dead weight they could expect out here.  
They reached a small oasis, which was hardly worth mentioning. A single tree that had managed to grow in this Wasteland, next to a puddle of nearly non-existent water. The car stopped nearby, close enough to observe the two figures near it, thanks to the green filtering goggles they all had in front of their eyes.

Damas signaled the men to ready their guns as soon as they recognized a Metal Scout. This seemed to be one outcast who had been claimed by the Waste before they had gotten to them. Before the men he had taken with him could fire, he held up his hand. Was he seeing this right?  
The Metal Head was letting water pour over the outcasts head, prodding the body with a paw every once in a while. A quick look to the side showed that the others had seen the behavior as well.

The lying shape got up, dipping her hands into the water and bringing it to their mouth. After a quick gargle, they spat the water back out. She seemed to be saying something to the Metal Head, who seemed to be listening intently.

The animal swayed it's head to the side, looking directly at their group. The woman followed the creature's gaze, and tried to stagger up from her knees to face them. Something seemed to keep her from doing so, as she fell back down again. The animal moved in front of her, the yellow gem in its forehead gleaming in the dark.

Damas signaled the men to put down their guns, bringing the car closer. The woman wrapped her arms around the creature's neck as they approached, clearly holding it back from attacking. He could only guess how alien he looked to her, dark scarf wrapped around his head, only green goggles visible. If she could even see that much in the dark.

"Did king Damos send you?" she asked, her voice sounding as if she had spent the last few hours screaming. Cuts covered her face, and one side of her face was swelling up. She seemed to have gotten Praxis pretty angry to have received this kind of treatment.

"No talking, runt." Kleiver spoke next to him. Damas held out a hand to the side.

"Is this animal obedient to you?" he asked her.

She nodded. Her face was filtered green through his goggles. He could see how hard she was fighting to remain conscious. "I would like to confer with my king. I fear I must report to him… I have failed…"

Her grip slackened from the creature's neck as she slumped forward. Instead of attacking them, the creature just observed them. As Damas nodded for them to take the girl, it just kept watching, alert if they should harm her.

It would seem this one might not be dead weight.


	17. Recovery

|Haven City|

The silence between Jak and Daxter was uncomfortable, hanging heavy in the air as Jak operated the adjusted Zoomer that Valentine had rigged. Every time he realized that he had been supposed to bring her to safety with this, he sped up just a little bit more, until Daxter was screaming in his ear, pleading to slow down.

Below him, everybody in the city seemed to be dazed by the recent events. People were gathering, talking in hushed tones. Every once in a while, he could see small groups of men talking with each other, occasionally pounding a fist in the palms of their hands. More often, he could see women gathering, shaking their heads with their hands on their hips.

Once he was near the entrance of the Underground, he parked the Zoomer gently. It could be it would come in handy when he had to break Valentine out of the Baron's prison. The door to the entrance opened grating, but he didn't have the patience for it to open wholly, slipping through as soon as he fit.

Down the stairs, he was greeted by a fist colliding with his face. Jak fell back against the bunk beds, looking up to see a furious Torn.  
"You idiot!" he yelled, voice more gravelly than usual. "What sorry excuse do you have for this situation? Wait, I don't need to hear it. Do you realize what you have done?" he pulled his hand back for another punch, but found himself stopped by the young Samos.

"I fear your punches will not harm him more than his own actions have done, Torn." Samos told his friend, looking at Jak with eyes that were surprisingly moist. "I don't think any blow the Baron would deal now would quite be able to rival this pain."

Jak got up on his feet, slightly shaky. For a moment the Dark Eco in his body almost took over, but he forced it back. Comforting his cheek, he replied just as gruffly. "Why are you acting like she's dead? We just have to bust in there and break her out. By tonight she'll be chewing us all out for messing up her plans."

Samos shook his head. "If only it were that simple. As we are speaking…" he had to breathe again before he could continue. "As we are speaking she is already being transported somewhere out the city."

Torn walked to his desk, towards some papers that didn't look they had been lying around for years for a change. He grabbed them, and shoved them in Jak's hands with so much force Jak found his breath knocked out of his body.

"What are these things?" Daxter asked, picking up one from the ground. It all looked like a bunch of hogwash to both him and Jak.

"An encoded message, detailing where they are bringing Valentine." Torn said, holding what seemed to be a decoded version in his own hand. From the looks of it, it had been crumpled up and smoothed out several times. "Where she's going now, there is no way we can follow. In the Wasteland, further than we can reach with our equipment…" Torn slammed a fist on the table.

"But, why would they bring her away from town? It doesn't make any sense. She should be here." Jak said, the sinking feeling in his stomach returning. The only reason he had been able to make it back here was because he'd convinced himself that they would be able to rescue her before any real harm could be done to her.

"It makes perfect sense. The Baron would love to use her as bait, but he knows you've eluded his plans to capture the both of you too often. Instead of risking losing one of the people he was chasing after, he decided to cash in his winnings early and make sure we can't get her back." Samos said. Suddenly he looked as old as the Samos Jak remembered from his childhood.  
"The place they are taking her… she will be known as 'subject Alpha' there. The Baron has scientists who will examine her to know what exactly makes her tick. What it is that makes her capable to use Eco in the way she does."

"Then she'll be safe, right? They won't hurt her as long as they need her." Jak interjected. He had to keep on holding that slight sliver of hope…

"The Baron has given orders that they are free to use whatever means they see fit, because 'subject Beta' is still on the loose." The way Torn glanced at Jak made very clear who subject Beta was supposed to be.

Jak grabbed his hand with his two hands, squatting on the floor. Tears stung in his eyes, but he forced them back. Tears wouldn't be able to help Valentine now. "This isn't what I wanted." He said, softly.

What he had wanted was to tell Valentine he had been sorry about how he had been acting. He had wanted to tell her that with all of the air cleared. That was the reason he had been late. All he had wanted was to be able to be honest with her. Honesty for the woman who had taken him in when he was such a mess, who had taken time to teach him what she knew.

"Get used to it." Torn said curtly. He crumpled up the decoded paper again, before letting it drop on the desk. "Life rarely gives people what they want."

|Spargus|

Valentine had to blink several times before she realized where she was. The ceiling she was staring at was beige and uneven, as if she were lying in a cave of sorts. The air was cool, and the shadows flickered as if the light source in the room was being delivered by a candle.

"You shouldn't move yet." A strange voice next to her warned. Valentine turned her head to the side, finding she had been bound to the bed with clean, white bandages. When she could see the markings on the woman's face, she had to blink again.

"I hadn't expected to see a member of the Precursor Worshippers here." she tried to say, her voice coming out as a whisper. The woman placed a glass filled with water to Valentine's lips, forcing her to drink. Next to the water, there was also a taste of something else. When the woman noticed Valentine's panic she calmly said :"you are hurt quite badly. Sleep will make the healing process go faster."

Darkness engulfed Valentine again, even as she struggled to remain awake. "I want to speak… with… King…"

Seem watched as the young woman fell back into her sleep. King Damas walked up behind her, arms clasped behind his back. Both of them looked at the sleeping Valentine, at how the candle light painted shadows on her injured form.  
"What are your thoughts about her?" Damas asked, wanting to know what gave the young woman the gall to ask for him, twice in a row.

"She has been infused with the power of our creators." Seem announced. "That is not a power for our kind to have. It would be more merciful to end her life now, instead of subjecting her to more suffering."

A low growl answered that statement. Meta climbed from underneath the opposing bed, keeping a watchful eye on Seem. Damas glanced sideways to the Metal Scout, before shaking his head.  
"The woman will live, for now. We need to know why she was sent here. And everybody is given a fair chance in our Arena." Damas announced. He watched a tear creep from behind Valentine's eyelids as she slept.

When Seem moved away, Meta took her place back at the side of her injured friend, sweeping her tail around to warn Damas that he would fare better not to come too close.

The next time Valentine opened up her eyes she was still staring at the same ceiling. And she was still tied to the bed for some reason. But when she turned her head around to see who was around, this time she was pleasantly surprised by a pair of all too familiar eyes, and a lolling tongue coming from between an impressive set of teeth.  
"Meta." She whispered again, hoarsely. Meta acknowledged her friend by rolling her head around, before she ran her long tongue across Valentine's face.  
"I'm so happy you're okay." She continued, her voice stronger this time. She wanted to lift her hand, but the bindings kept her in place.

Meta noticed the obstruction, and a few quick bites and pulls later, Valentine was free again. Or at least she was, until Meta jumped on her legs, demanding some attention. Valentine happily complied, pressed her face against the Scout's shoulder. Hot tears sprang into her eyes for a moment.  
"Thank you, my friend." She said softly. "Thank you for not betraying me."

Meta let her tongue run across Valentine's face again, before settling down on her legs again. Now that her initial emotions had passed, she realized just how sore she was. The linen shirt she was wearing was so over sized she could easily see the bandages wrapped around pretty much her entire torso. Bringing a hand to her face, she winced when she felt the gashes that were now covered in crusts.  
"Well… so much for my superstar looks." She mumbled.

Her hand still hurt like hell, but a few days of not being abused seemed to have subdued the pain. When she reached out a hand towards the glass of water, Meta let out a growl. Taking the hint, she sniffed the water before drinking, and detected once again that medicinal undertone.  
"Sleep is good for me, at least that's what the monk told me. But…" her stomach growled loudly. "Some food would go a longer way in getting me healed up."

Hearing this, Meta jumped back on the ground and moved towards the exit. Valentine nodded, slowly swinging her legs out of bed. She was shaky, but she didn't drop through her knees immediately.  
"I hope I'll be myself again soon." She thought, taking unsure steps after Meta. The Metal seemed to be following her nose, backtracking regularly to make sure her friend didn't get lost. When Valentine started wobbling dangerously, Meta stepped in immediately, placing herself underneath her friend to support her.

Soon after they reached the kitchen, much to the dismay of the elderly cook who was in the midst of preparing dinner.  
"Get that… that thing out of my kitchen." The gray-haired woman commanded.

"Sorry. Can't." Valentine managed to bring out. When the woman noticed it was a patient, she turned over a more concerned leaf.

"Oh, my dearie, you shouldn't be out of bed! The monks gave specific orders not to let you walk around until you're fully healed!" Even if the woman exclaimed her concern, there was still no sign she was planning on going through Meta to get Valentine back to bed.

Valentine heaved herself on a heavy wooden bench, sweat beading on her forehead due to the exertion. "I was hungry." She explained curtly. The short trip here had taken more out of her than she would like to admit. Her skin started to itch now that she detected a trace of Dark Eco. She directed her gaze to one of the big pots on the stove, pinpointing it as being fueled by the power that scourged her body.

The woman nodded. "Of course you are, you're nearly skin over bone. And you've been out for three days cold, apart from some few moments when you were awake. If you'll go to bed right away, I'll let you have some dinner."  
Meta let out a growling sound, at which the woman let out a sigh. "I suppose I have some lizard legs lying around that haven't made it into the stew either."

A few moments later Valentine was presented with a thick stew and a few slices of bread. Her stomach growling even louder, she hardly took the time to blow on her food, shoveling it in almost as fast as Meta was crunching her lizard legs. As the elderly woman saw the rate at which the stew was disappearing, she already had a second bowl ready for Valentine by the time she finished the first one.

"Now you just let Macie take care of you, dearie." The elderly woman said, touching her white hair to make sure it was still in a bun. Glasses hung from a chain around her neck, and she looked over at Valentine with a loving look as the woman wolfed down the food.

Halfway her second bowl, Valentine remembered her manners. "My name's Valentine. And my friend here is Meta." she said, nudging her head towards the Scout who already had finished her meal.

Macie looked at the Metal Head with a less loving look. "More like eating me out of supplies, you mean. If I let her have her way, she would have made off with most of the meat in the pantry here. But of course, the boss wouldn't let anything happen to the both of you until he has a chance to talk to you."

"You mean King Damas? He's really here?" Valentine asked, being handed a third bowl that was making its way down the hatch slightly slower than the previous ones.

"I was hoping I could have a word with you." A serious voice sounded from the doorway.

Valentine's eyes grew bigger when she saw her King before her own eyes. Even after all these years, this was a man who's presence you couldn't lightly forget. She tried to stand up, but before she had made a decent start, he gave her a slight shove back in her seat.  
"My King." She said, temporarily forgetting what she wanted to say.

His eyes glanced over the bowl of stew, and towards the already finished bowls that were standing on the sink. "I'm glad to see you have an appetite. A good warrior needs to keep their strength up."

She nodded, wiping her mouth clean with the sleeve of the over sized shirt. "Yes sir." She replied. She couldn't believe her eyes for a moment. Mar's father, the man who was supposed to be ruling over Haven, was standing in front of her.

He took a seat in front of her, signing towards Macie. She handed him a bowl of stew as well, before cleaning up the mess Meta had made during her meal. The Metal Head retreated to Valentine's side, clearly not feeling comfortable with the elder woman.  
"There are not many who come here referring to me as their king.' Damas said. "Most have to be retaught their position when they arrive here. So the question remains, who are you exactly?"

Valentine lowered her eyes. "I'm from the house of Ashanti, my King." She glanced up quickly to gauge his reaction. "My mother was assigned to the care of your Lady wife, while my father…"

"… while your father was one of the most accomplished guards I had back in Haven."

She could feel how Damas was trying to decide just what he would have to do with her. She went back to eating, trying to seem intimidating even during this action.

"And so a member of that family managed to survive. The Ashanti were always tougher than most." He said the last not as a compliment, but as something that was simply to be expected from them. "Still, I have the feeling that is not everything there is to know about you."

She shook her head. "Where should I begin?" she wondered out loud.

"Start at the end. How did you end in the Wastes?" he asked her, as he started to eat.

"I… it was not my intention to be honest, my King. Some of the men of the Underground, an organization that fights the Baron, had been captured. Because of my position, I was the most logical choice as a diversion. But…" she found she had to swallow away an expected moment of grief. "The person who was supposed to aid me in my escape never showed up. He abandoned me, and I was captured."

Her fists clenched in anger, bending the spoon she had been holding. "I was abandoned by the person who was supposed to be the one I could trust the most."

Damas eyed her appraisingly. "You have anger in you. That is good, if you know how to use it. The Arena will be more interesting with you in it."

She looked back to Damas. "The Arena?"

Damas stood up, his bowl empty. "Things here are not as how they were in Haven, young warrior. If you wish to remain here, you will have to prove your worth in three tests. If you fail in any one of these, you will be cast out of the city."

Valentine let herself slide of the bench, kneeling on one knee. Her uncombed long hair hung beside her face as she spoke. "My King, not only do I desire to remain in this city, I wish to remain here in the same position that should belong to one of my family. My family has guarded yours since the very start, and I fully intend to do the same."  
She looked up, her blue eyes sparkling with determination. "I also have news of your son, my Lord. After I tell you how I have shamefully failed him and you, you may cast a first judgment on me."

Damos looked at her with an expression she never would have guessed able to appear on his features. He looked like a father who had been presented with a glimmer of hope after years of wondering. He knelt down to help her up.  
"Tell me. Tell me everything there is to know about my son."


	18. First Trial

|One Week Later, Spargus|

Valentine watched as Macie cooked up what looked to be lizard legs in some sort of batter. Behind the elderly woman Meta waited on her haunches until the woman would toss back some scraps. As Valentine had been healing, her body had become increasingly demanding of food. Apart from that, the pain of Eco that she was unable to relieve had made her black out three times up 'till now.

That would be a problem. Damos had complimented her on the way she had handled things in Haven, before ordering her back to bed. That night had been the first time she had actually blacked out from the pain. The last time had been two days before now. She could hardly hear 'It' whisper in her head anymore thanks to the roar of Dark Eco.

"You look positively pale, dearie." Macie told her, giving her a carrot to nibble on. Being in recovery meant she had to stay in the underground cellars, where it was cool so patients wouldn't have to deal with the desert heat. Preferring Macie's company to lonely confinement in her bed, Valentine now spent most of her time in the kitchen.

"I'll be fine." Valentine mumbled, sticking the carrot in her mouth. An increased appetite was a side-effect from the Eco, but it had never been as bad as now. Sometimes Valentine thought she ate more than Meta, which was a disquieting thought on its own.

"I just need to take this over to the boys in the guard house." Macie said, wrapping some foodstuffs in what looked like an old-fashioned pick nick basket. "Could you keep an eye on the stove for a second while I'm out? As soon as it starts to smell burnt, it's a sign you should have turned down the fire five minutes earlier."

"Yes Macie." Valentine replied obediently. Macie wouldn't be gone for long. In about an hour the monks would stop by again for her physical check-up, and Macie insisted on being there to keep an eye on the proceedings. Something had given the woman the impression that Valentine needed protecting. As if Meta wasn't enough to scare the living daylights out of the unhappy monks.

She watched the stove, the only piece of equipment in this room that made use of Dark Eco. She could feel the energy, pulsing as it moved through the earth and wall. She could sense it in her room as well, though she couldn't estimate how far away from her it was due to the thick stone walls.  
She stared at the little flames, squinting her eyes a little bit. She thought about what she had done to the guards who had tried to use a stun gun on her. Somehow she had directed the Eco in the guns in such a way to afflict the holder instead of her. She wondered…

_Flex._

Something in her mind popped. There was no other word for the peculiar sensation. At once the fire shot up, engulfing the food in flames. Valentine got up as fast as she could, throwing a damp rag over the meal. If she didn't turn down the fire, Macie would probably tan her alive. She stared at the fire, trying to find back the feeling that had made her …

_Flex…_

At once the fire went out completely. Coughing she kept patting the damp rag on the – as she assumed – burnt meat. Now there was an interesting reaction to something that had been bothering her. On top of that, she felt less like her head was being split in two.

However interesting this was… she had to clean up before Macie found out she had just spoiled lunch.

|Three Weeks Later, Valentine's Home, Haven|

Today was the day they would be uncovering Mar's tomb, and hopefully find a way to deal with Praxis once and for all. Jak wasn't completely clear on what the Stone was they were looking for, but he knew Praxis wanted it, and that was enough reason to plan on taking it before his nemesis could get his hands on it.

He cast a glance to the pictures spread around the house. Several times he had been tempted to take them down, but one look on a picture that had Valentine in it was enough to postpone his judgment. Every single time he had thought 'just a little bit longer', and left them spread around the house, just so he could torture himself a little bit more.  
He didn't know if the Eco made his feelings worse. Valentine would probably have been able to tell him, over dinner as they discussed whatever they had on their minds. With a snarl he laced up his shoes, turning around to look for his gun.

"JAK!" Daxter yelled, waddling into the room as fast as he could. The Ottsel was carrying a communicator in his hands, the one Valentine had used mostly to chat with her uncle. "YA GOTTA HEAR THIS!" Daxter continued, aiming the communicator at Jak.

"… will know after the trial. … Won't be… to make it back but… love… Kid. Goodbye uncle."

Jak felt the floor drop from beneath his feet at the sound of that particular voice. He dropped to his knees, tracing a finger over the small machine in Daxter's hands.  
"Is that?" he started, but he couldn't continue.

"That's my niece alright!" Vin's voice suddenly sounded from the speakers, stronger than Valentine's voice had been. "Leave it to that kid to find a way to get a transmitter running capable of reaching all the way over here." The way Vin was gushing, people would have thought Valentine had invented hot water.

"Vin, was that Valentine? She's alive?" Jak asked, taking the communicator from Daxter's hands.

"Alive and kicking!" Vin whooped, forgetting all about how coldly he had treated Jak the past few days. "I'll play the message again for you, the Shadow had me play it on a loop all night."

Jak wet his lips as he stared at the little machine. There was no screen where he could see her face, and the sound was abominable but… she was alive!

"Uncle Vin? Precursors be damne… hear this. I made it out alive… be sure to say… to Ashelin. Guess where I am no…. if Meta hadn't pulled me out I'd be…." Her voice kept fading in and out, making most of the message impossible to understand, but that was okay. Today pretty much anything could happen and Jak wouldn't give a damn. Erol could waltz in wearing nothing but suspenders, dancing with a yakow and Jak doubted he would have noticed.

"Everything's okay though. Still need to… Baron did a number on me. Will take a while before I'm healed up but… the Arena. No need to worry, I'll just… will know after the trial. … Won't be… to make it back but… love… Kid. Goodbye uncle."

Jak pressed a kiss on the communicator, his heart squeezing painfully in his chest. He had thought he had damned her forever, doomed to a death as 'subject Alpha', and here she was, alive and safe!

"Vin, this is the best news anyone could have given me!" he said to the machine.

"No need to thank me, it's my little niece who should be getting all of the credit. I can't guess how she built a transmitter that was able to reach us though."

"Does this mean we will be able to get her back?" Jak asked hopefully.

"Negative, sadly enough." The sound of buttons being pushed produced a buzzing sound on the other side of the line. "Even if we were able to steal one of the special transits, there's too much airspace between here and where the signal came from. For now she's stuck in the Wasteland, at least until we manage to get the Baron out of here." Jak could almost hear the man shrug, before turning back to his buttons. "Once we get rid of the Baron, getting over there should be a breeze. Kind of. It's a big Wasteland after all."

Jak pumped his fist in the air, pleased with whatever good news he could get. "Doesn't matter. We get rid of Praxis, and then we get Valentine back here."

|That Same Day|

"I think I'm gonna puke." Valentine announced as she was waiting to be admitted in the Arena. She was on the ground level, accompanied by Kleiver. The big man looked at her, raising his eyebrow at her.

"Better in here than out there, birdie." He told her, before turning his gaze back to the Arena.

Someone else was undergoing their third trial before her, and the sounds of dying men were faintly audible even in here. On top of that, the heat levels were even more intolerable thanks to the fact the Arena seemed to be placed inside a crater filled with magma.

Her first trial, as Kleiver had so kindly told her, was unarmed combat. Unarmed for her at least, apparently her opponents would be well-armed to take her on. She was free to steal their weapons, whether they were still alive or dead by the time she decided to take them.

That wasn't the thing that was making her feel queasy. She could feel how the Eco around the entire Arena was gathered, she could sense every stone and how it was influenced by it. The victor was applauded, and she could feel how the stone that would let him rise to King Damos' level was pushed up by Eco.

"Kleiver… this Arena. It's operated by Dark Eco, isn't it?" she asked, trying to keep the strain out of her voice. The proximity of all this energy made her entire body go crazy. If she started to crackle from her fingertips or her hair it wouldn't have surprised her one bit.

"This old place? Yeah, it's one of the first things Damos had installed. Took a couple of real brainiacs to get it all set up. Why?" Kleiver asked her, not understanding why she should ask such a question.

Valentine shook her head. No need to tell him if she would be unable to do what she was planning on doing. She had been experimenting with her new power ever since she had found out about it. It would seem there was no better place to test it out than here.

"Remember, you can't bring no knives or guns in there with ya. Everything you use, you gotta find there. We clear?" Kleiver asked her.

Valentine nodded, grateful that Meta hadn't been brought into this. Damos had ruled that animals, no matter how sentient, were considered to be just animals and were not viable for citizenship. With Meta out of the way, she could prove her own worth to her Lord. Even so, her King had consented that if she passed and became a full member of Spargus, Meta would be appointed as her partner.

"I understand. I won't use anything I can't find in there." Valentine promised, flexing her fingers in sudden excitement. This was the moment she could prove she too was a warrior. If she succeeded here, she would prove she was capable of fending for herself.

Her hands quickly searched over her body, checking if everything was in place. The leather armor had been provided by Macie's son, who happened to be in charge of the armory in town. Macie had been the one to put up her hair in a braid, all the while giving her advice on how to deal with things.

As the gate grated open to allow her entrance in the Arena, Valentine took a deep breath. She felt nervous, more nervous than she had ever felt about performing in front of a bunch of people back in Haven. Back then, she had done so as DE-girl… but here… here she would just be Valentine. No mask to hide behind, nothing to hide who she was.

She stepped inside, mindful not to accidentally blunder into the soaring, molten stone at both sides of her. Still, she couldn't help but gape at the towering room. Far above her people were shouting and cheering, stalactites drooping down from the middle of the ceiling towards the center of the room. And straight across from where Damos was sitting the rock was cut away, showing the blue sky and allowing the sound of crashing wave to faintly enter the room.

She walked towards the middle of the room, as she had been instructed. She felt oddly plain in her battle garments, which were nothing like the garish costume she was wont to wear when performing. Turning around, she felt dizzy as she looked up at the high ceiling. Sweat started to bead on her brow in the sweltering heat as she lifted her hand in a greeting to her King.

She saw Damos give a sign, a mere flick of his hand. She could feel the flex in her heart, the tightening in her chest as Eco was activated. From four corners of the Arena, men of all stature and mood were unleashed in the Arena. She didn't know much about them, except that the one who managed to kill a contestant was promised free leave out of Spargus.

She counted eight of them. Frustrated she sucked in her cheeks, trying to decide what to do. Go for a full Eco attack straight away or-  
Surprised she barely managed a ragged long blade aimed at her jugular. In the same movement she turned to the guy who was most right of her, a tall, lanky specimen who clearly had ignored his toothbrush too often. His reflexes might have been good, but he was nothing against somebody who had been infected with Eco.

Before he hit the ground she had claimed the long fighting stick he had been carrying. Two men with hatchets came at her from both sides. She feigned a charge at one of them, before planting the stick against the ground, lifting herself from the ground.  
She could hear the crowd cheer as she landed on the other side of the guy, taking advantage of the men running into each other. When a bear of a man attacked her with a lance, she hurried to the left, allowing him to pierce the two men with hatchets.

Three down, five more to go.

The man who had made the mistake of burying his lance in his comrades soon followed them to the ground. The remaining four were more on their guard, not wishing to attack her as quickly at the others had. A young woman would have made easy prey in their eyes, but that was not the case this time.

"What's the matter guys? Scared of a little girl?" she taunted.

One of the men attempted to catch her in a gladiator's net. As in a reflex, she could feel her mind reacting. A pillar of stone flashed up in front of her, bring a spout of molten rock along with it. Judging from the sounds on the other side, some of the men had been burned pretty badly. Before she could lower the stone in front of her, it started to sink in the ground again.

Looking towards where King Damos was sitting, she could see him angrily pointing at some men, who were busy with levers. The moment of distraction earned her a cut across her right side from the man with the jagged sword. Hissing she stumbled backwards, holding her side. Warm blood seeped between her fingers.

'And I just got healed up too…' she thought to herself. She dodged two more swings from the man as she tried to keep check of where the guy with the net was.

An alarm started to sound, and at once the guy who had been attacking her bounded off, leaving her standing in confusion. What the hell was happening this time?  
Then she remembered what Macie had told her; how the Arena could be lowered in the molten rock below it, save some safe areas, to speed up a battle. She grit her teeth, and concentrated on the rock below her feet.

The white hot liquid that had formed beneath her feet started to retreat as she forced the spot beneath her to raise itself up instead of sink down. Shouts coming from the King's balcony indicated that they didn't know what was happening, and were trying to stop her from doing it.

Valentine could feel it. She could feel how the Eco ran through tubes, great and small spaces to do the bidding of the people who operated the buttons. She could feel her heartbeat aligning with the steady beat inside the liquid energy. This time her fingertips did crackle with energy as she brought the fighting stick in front of her face.

The four remaining men were standing on the same platform, a few meters away from her. They watched her, clearly ill at ease. Each breath brought the promise of blood spouting in the air, and she could taste the scent of burnt meat from the corpses had had already been lowered in the liquid stone.

She turned her attention to the ground beneath the feet of the men now. Keeping her own standing spot secure, she focused on the Eco beneath the men, coaxing it away with her mind. Sweat ran down her temples in droplets with exertion, but she couldn't let up now. Her knees started to shake as the edges of her vision started to fade. Not important, she had to win. Even if her head felt like it might split in a million pieces if she kept this up.

Slowly the stone started to sink towards the ground. The men on it started to scream that it wasn't fair, a fight wasn't supposed to go like this. Valentine found she didn't care. They were in the way of her victory.

Once they had been lowered in the molten stone, the Arena was returned to its former state. Her name was announced as the winner, and the crowd started to cheer her name, hesitantly at first. Until they realized they now had a warrior among their midst who could control the Arena without any help from machinations.

Power was always rewarded in Spargus.


	19. Second Trial

|Spargus|

Valentine soon found out that winning in the arena, although commendable, had its own complications if you didn't do it the way most people did it. Right now she found herself in Damas' throne room, sitting near the stream of water that incessantly trickled past the rocks. A few meters further Damas was sitting on his throne, surrounded by several important citizens who all had something to say about her win.

"… highly unconventional, not to mention the kind of precedent this sets for future fights. What if other people also find out how to hack the Eco flows in the Arena?" the Arena manager complained, gripping a board with several calculations in his hands. Tall and lanky, he had Valentine wondering how he had been able to get through his own trials.

"This infection with Eco is an abomination at the very best, even if we disregard the potential consequences to your customs." Seem added, her strange outfit glowing in the room. It was probably just a matter of time before she once again suggested that Valentine be given 'eternal rest' or something just as disagreeable.

"Even if you lot start talking about things like 'fair play' or use fancy words like the monk here-" Kleiver started, waving a hand towards Seem who tried to pretend she didn't see the man. "- fact is the kid still won. I say it doesn't matter how she wins, as long as she wins." Getting supported by Kleiver was a course of action Valentine hadn't been expecting.

Damas let his eyes survey the room slowly, pausing for a moment on the reason for all this unrest. Valentine didn't avert her gaze, looking straight back at the man that was in all respects her leader. Meta sensed the unrest in the room, sharpening her claws on a rock in the water as she let out distressed noises. Seem threw the Metal Head another disdained look. It appeared the Precursor Monk was still deciding which of them both she hated the most.

"Do you have anything to say in your defense?" Damas asked her, resting his head on his hand, gripping his strange staff with the other. He was clearly bothered with the situation, though it was unclear because he felt like the sanctity of the Arena was defiled or because an useful asset was being questioned. Probably a bit of both.

Valentine looked around the room, blowing some hair out of her face as she did so. "I just did what I was ordered to do. I did not take any weapon with me inside the Arena, only my body. I did not hack the Arena – which would have been quite hard since there is no way for me to hard wire anything without tearing the entire Arena open. All I did was use my body, and the potential in it."

She refused to call the Dark Eco in her body a curse in this company. Despite the fact that Seem would probably agree with her, none of the others would probably take too kindly to her being disdainful towards what they would consider a great source of power.

'Show them pain… just attack and taste blood… no questions… no complications…' And now that she had somehow lifted some of the pressure inside of her, she now had to deal with It being back.

"That seems to be the main problem here." Damas said, leaning back in his seat. "She cannot turn off this power of hers, nor would it be advisable to do so. A warrior needs all of their skills."

The Arena manager threw his hands in the air in despair. "Even if that is so, my King, there is no way I can allow her in the Arena again. Any Trial would be highly unfair, considering she is able to remove the ground from under the feet of whoever we send in there." He looked at Valentine with a look that wasn't hostile, but rather impressed and wary.

The arguing continued, with Seem strongly against her staying in the city – on religious grounds, not on personal ones, as if that was a comfort –, the Arena manager who was against it for the reason that she would have an unfair advantage and Kleiver who seemed to be all for throwing her in the Arena with as many Marauders they could get their hands on. Somehow even the latter suggestion seemed to be not as helpful as Kleiver probably meant it.

Finally Damas held up a hand, clearly wanting to be done with this as soon as possible. "If we cannot test her in the Arena, there are other ways to see if she had the necessary skills to be one of us. Valentine." He turned to her, gesturing for her to stand up. She complied, Meta coming to lie next to her standing companion.

"You told me that Praxis was sending you to a facility in the desert for further testing." The way he spoke clearly indicated he wasn't asking her a question, but instead clarifying matters for the other people in the room. "It would seem to me that there would be a great many amount of enemies in that place. If she were to incapacitate that facility, she would be proving us a favor, and that would be enough for her to earn a second part of her citizenship."

Damas looked around the room again, waiting for people to argue or agree with him. The Arena master was the first one to agree with Damas, muttering something about it not being in the Arena and therefore acceptable for him. Kleiver seemed to be mostly sorry that he wouldn't be able to actually see her go nuts in that place, but he agreed as well. Seem seemed to be least inclined to agree, but she couldn't say no without looking petty.

Finally Damas nodded to her. He didn't expect her to say anything. All that was necessary was that she would do as told. And she would.

|Haven|

Jak wiped away his hair from his eyes. He was drenched in sewage water, courtesy of the men he had to escort through the sewers. You'd think that people who worked for Krew would be more able to defend themselves, but apart from some lucky shots they had done very little to actually do so.

At least he had Daxter to watch his back, literally. Not for the first time he thought that having Valentine here would have made his life easier. For one, she didn't constantly badger him go on missions. He missed her gentle way of urging him to take a day off every once in a while. With a sigh he realized they had never gone on that pick nick like she had wanted.

He shot one of the larger Metals that had attempted to take a bite out of Jinx, the bomb expert, all the while trying to avoid become drenched in Metal blood. The animals growled as they came closer, ignoring fallen comrades as they seemed intent on getting to Jak. There was an intent in their movements that belied the stupidity people usually granted them. Valentine had sad that they possessed a Hive mind. If that was true, then they were probably following orders from the Metal King.

Jinx clapped him on the back. "Thanks Goldilocks. I'll just get a little blast going here and then we're almost there."

Jak suppressed a snarl. If anything he had wanted to stop working for Krew, but there was the thing with having some new weapon upgrades. Krew had become more sorely needed than ever as their weapon supplier the longer the situation in Haven held up.

He resisted the force of the explosion, going ahead to check for more enemies. Daxter's claws in his shoulder felt reassuring, a reminder that his best friend was still with him. He'd never noticed it before, but the sewers felt a lot like the dungeons Praxis had kept him in. Damp, smelly and hopeless. Perhaps he could consider the sewers an upgrade, seeing as how he would be allowed to get out of here.

His hand traced the picture he had of Valentine in his breast pocket for a moment, painfully aware of how her knife was hidden in his boot. Living with the Eco was only a fraction harder than living with the knowledge he had failed her. If it hadn't been for the message she had gotten through to Vin they would still not have known that she was alive. That she was safe. Hopefully she was somewhere surrounded by books and computers, that would make her happiest.

|The Wasteland, Two Weeks Later|

Valentine looked at the scientific stronghold below her. The metal building was hidden in a valley in the Wasteland, so far away from Spargus there was no way a car would ever get here. But a single woman with a Metal Scout and sufficient supplies apparently stood a good chance.

She offered Meta the last part of her lizard jerky before gushing her full mouth down with some warm water. They were seated in a shady spot, to keep from giving away their position to the enemy by some sort of accident. It was a possibility after all, Valentine thought to herself as she watched Meta seated next to her. The Metal Head was lounging on the rock next to her, seemingly observing the valley with as much interest as her friend.  
These past few weeks Meta had been displaying more and more signs that she was reaching adulthood. The only reliable clue Valentine had were the lighter blue markings that had been blotching across her otherwise impeccable camouflage. Not that dark and light greens were such great camouflage in a desert where the only green came from a lonely cactus every few hundred yards.

She ran her hand carefully across her arms, trying to see if there was a spot where she had somehow missed to properly close the small metal locks. She missed her wrist computer, even though it was useless in Spargus. Once she had been allowed to roam the city she had soon found out that apart from the Arena there was very little technology to be found. Expect guns and cars. Everybody there had guns, and everybody knew how to drive a car. Which made her the odd one out again.

She tapped Meta on the shoulder once, giving the Metal Head the sign that it was time to move. They had been watching the facility for half a day now, resting up and trying to see if there was something special going on. But they would have to take care of this facility sooner or later, and Valentine wouldn't get any better at killing if she just sat there.

'Attack. Kill. Feel better if we could just kill something.'

Of course It had to pipe in concerning that specific thought. With an inaudible growl she swung her leg across Meta's back, laying her hands across her friend's neck to avoid getting thrown off. Once they were up in the sky, Valentine quickly put on her dark goggles to avoid going nearly blind from the sun. Up here there were thankfully no gusts of wind carrying sand through every opening it could find.

She needed no words to tell Meta where she had to go. The bond that had been forged between them – Valentine strongly suspected it was because the 'cure' she had injected herself with had been made from Meta's blood – allowed the Metal Head to divine where it was that Valentine wanted to go.

They landed on top of the landing pad building. Valentine quickly got off, slipping the knife she had gotten out of the armory from her soft leather boots. There were several others hidden on her body, a precaution she had to take since she had refused to take a hand gun.  
She looked down on the landing pad. There had only been one guard the entirety of the day, and there had been a change of men twenty minutes ago. The man was dressed in the Krimzon suit, but had made the mistake of not wearing a helmet due to the heat. She couldn't blame him for wanting to enjoy a breeze. But she could not allow him to live either.

She dropped down from the roof, her knife plunging in his throat, cutting through his vocal cords. The man gurgled, trying to grip at his assailant as he felt to the ground. After Mihko – the Arena manager – had seen how bad she was with guns in general, he had forced her to undergo some sort of guerrilla warfare training, deciding hand-to-hand combat would be more her forte. Valentine wiped the knife on her wrist band, ignoring the satisfied murmurs from It in her head. Meta landed next to her on the ground.

"You sure you want to come inside with me?" she asked her partner. Meta snorted, trotting towards the door. Valentine muttered something that sounded a lot like 'overgrown, smart-ass lizard' before following after her. As she had suspected, defense from here was laughable. People never expected their enemy to be able to approach them through the air without knowing about it first.

Inside the temperature was discernibly cooler, sending a chill down Valentine's spine. Despite her dislike for the desert heat, she had started to prefer it over artificial coolness. Meta's claws clicked softly on the steel floors, which was soon mediated with the Metal Head figured out that retracting her nail made the noise go away. Before moving further than the initial corridor, Valentine took a short pause to look around.

One camera, at the end of the right hallway. Laughable and lax. No matter how sure people were they wouldn't get attacked, some better security had never killed anyone. At least, not until now.  
Valentine placed a hand against the wall. From the moment they had entered she had felt the surge of Eco throughout the building. As she focused on the way the Eco was being guided throughout the building, she could feel how things had been constructed. If she had had the time and desire, she would have been able to figure out how the entire building had been built-up just by studying the Eco. For now, she focused on something else.

She soon found the sentry bots. There were none on this floor, but the lower she went the more she could detect. Without a computer near she wouldn't be able to reconfigure their targeting parameters, but as things were now, there were other things she could do.  
First she activated what felt like the fire alarm. Although red lights did start flickering, with a robotic voice asking everyone in the building to stay calm, there was no spray of water. Another alarm, apparently. The most important thing was that for now people would probably be filing in the corridors, making themselves vulnerable for the sentry guns.

She activated those next. She could feel the familiar flex, she knew the guns turned on but the way this building was designed there was no sound audible. Meta stood next to her as she worked, keeping a vigilant eye. Valentine waited for a minute, before flexing the flow of Eco again.

As she started walking, Meta followed, claws once again clicking on the floor. She didn't get far however, as before she reached the stairs down a group of people in lab coats emerged escorted by two Guards.  
"Subject alpha!" one of the women in the group gasped, pointing a finger at Valentine.

At that name Valentine narrowed her eyes. Before the Guards had been able to ready their guns Meta had already jumped into the fray, tackling one of the armored men to the ground. This distracted his comrade enough for Valentine to follow the Metal Head's example, plunging a knife in the place where helmet connected to armor.

The scientists had obviously decided from the evidence that running was in their best interest. This was counting without Meta, who rushed through the narrow corridor, throwing them all to the ground as she moved in front of their route. Valentine followed, not bothering to clean her knife between cut throats. The woman who had recognized her as the intended Subject Alpha was the last one left alive, caught between two predators. She fell to her knees, pleading. "No, you can't do this. You're not like this!"

Valentine paused for a moment. "I'm not?"

"No!" the woman answered her. "The psychological report show that between you and Subject Beta, you are the one who is most merciful and balanced despite longer infection. Following those facts, you should not be doing this."

Valentine let out a throaty chuckle at that statement. "I'm sorry, but recent events have made me a little less forgiving than your initial data. I believe your employer labeled me 'a tough, stubborn bitch'."  
Those were all the words she needed to convey her feelings, planting her dagger in the woman's chest as almost an afterthought.

After Jak's betrayal, after arriving in Spargus, she had seen the need to become stronger, less forgiving. Meta lead the way, sniffing out stray scientists and guards who had managed to survive the sudden activation of the sentry guns.

Valentine's only moment of indecision was when she came to a subject room. When she entered the room, she had been confronted with a large space filled with cages. The sounds and smells of angered Metal Heads, in every shape and size she knew of and a few others she had never even imagined, were almost overpowering.

She sucked the inside of her cheek, trying to decide what to do with these. Leaving them here to starve would be too cruel, but a look on the uneasy Meta next to her was enough to decide that perhaps killing them was not the best method either.

Finally she decided to stop near one of the smaller ones, looking at Meta sternly. "If they attack me, I get to kill them. Understood?"

Meta let out some whines, shaking her head back and forth at the sight of her kin in cages.

With a sigh Valentine unleashed the Metal Head. It seemed to be a baby Grunt, one of the basic Metal Head types. It came out of the cage hesitantly, not attacking her, but not fleeing away either.

With a deep resentment, Valentine continued to open up cages. Some of the more adult animals growled and snarled at her, but none of them made a move to attack them. Finally she had them all out, and found herself looking at a room of Metal Heads who didn't seem that ready to try and rip her throat out.

She held open one of the double doors, gesturing down the hallway with her knife. "Well, go on. What are you waiting for, a written invitation?"

This was enough to send them out of the room, first slowly and finally in a stampede. Judging from the screams that followed, it seemed like they were taking revenge on their captors. Some of the larger ones halted for a moment near her, pushing their heads against her upper leg. The first one to do that nearly sent her into a shock, and the feeling didn't subside as it continued.

As Valentine watched the last ones depart, she imagined that this again might not have been the way she was supposed to win another Trial.


	20. Third Trial

|Haven, Metal Head Nest|

Jak let himself drop to the ground, sweaty and exhausted. Nobody ever mentioned being a hero involved blood and grime in these amounts. He watched Kor's head on the ground, seeing the gem in his forehead gleam with a dull light. He'd done it. After having lost Valentine six months ago, he had beaten Kor. Now they would be able to venture out of the city and find her.

How was he going to tell her Vin had died?

He watched as the Kid placed both palms on the green gemstone they had just won back. With a crack it burst open, revealing a creature made of pure light. The Kid was thrown back by the blast, looking up at the creature with his mouth hanging open. The small part of Jak's brain that wasn't busy registering the creature had an inkling he had the same expression as the Kid right now.

"Oh man, is that a Precursor?" he said out loud. That must have been the real reason Kor had been after the stone.

"It is finished, our ancient enemy is no more. Take hope, brave one." The creature spoke, floating in front of them in the air. Jak could hear clanking sounds behind them, but he didn't quite register what those meant. "The terrible darkness inside you is now balanced with a glorious light."

Jak stopped the Kid from running after the creature as it promised they would be meeting again. That had just been plain weird… and too cryptic for his liking. Why didn't people just say what they meant out loud?

Now he had the time to look behind him. Keira and her two fathers – what was the plural for Samos? – had arrived. "We haven't much time. I'm going to set the co-ordinates for the village. We'll be home in no time."

Jak folded his arms over one another. After having made clear to Keira that he had no intention of getting back together with her, things had been rough between them. They had gotten even worse when he had gotten confirmation she had had a thing with Erol while he had been in prison for two years. She'd neglected to tell him that, and he had not been happy finding out.  
"We are home." He said curtly. "Even if we weren't, I still need to stay here."

"We will need to use the Rift Rider to send young Jak home." Samos said.

"I already said I'm staying." Jak announced, looking annoyed nobody had seemed to listen to him.

"Not you, the young you." Samos said, pointing at the Kid. "We need to make sure you grow up without any harm."

This was news for both Jak and young Samos. The Kid was him? He got up slowly, looking at the Kid who looked back at him with something that looked faintly like disdain and surprise. The Kid had been the most upset with Jak, next to Vin, after Valentine had disappeared.  
"Well, I suppose this explains some things." Jak mumbled, watching the Kid sign something towards him. Though he was nowhere near as fluent as Valentine, he could still discern the general gist of things. It boiled down to it that the Kid swore he would find Valentine when he grew up. Or he wanted to be a chicken farmer.

He lifted his younger version up on the platform. "I promise I'll find her, okay? There's no way I won't let things between us get patched up."  
The Kid nodded firmly at this, folding his hands over one another. After the final goodbyes were said – and Jak had given a sorely needed warning about humpbee nests – he found himself worrying even more about, well, everything.

"The Kid didn't remember a thing about all of this." Samos told him, looking as the Portal faded out.

"I remembered the light." Jak said. He hadn't remembered about Valentine, or Torn, or any of the others. He wondered how things would have gone if he had remembered.

|Spargus|

It was nightfall when the news about Kor's defeat reached Spargus. The news sent both joy and anguish through its residents. Joy because this meant an end to Praxis and all too powerful Metal Heads, and anguish because they had gotten a preliminary casualty list that was nowhere near complete. There was a lot of drinking going on, one of the few times seasoned fighters let themselves go like this.

Valentine wove her way through the hordes of people who were laughing and crying at the same time, not wanting to get caught up in this. Her throat was sore, and her eyes red with weeping. There had been names on the list she had recognized at first glance, and a lot more she remembered from her time with the Underground.

Uncle Vin had been one of the names. The realization he was gone had hit her like the blow of a hammer. The man who had taken his niece in after she was infected with Dark Eco, who had taken every care to raise her to the best of his abilities. She choked up again as she realized she had never been able to really say a proper goodbye to him. She hoped his death had been quick and painless. Uncle Vin had never been good with pain.

The name that had finished her off had been that of the Kid. To see him on the list finished her last restraints. When the first cries on the street had started to sound, she had broken down. She had cried out in her own helplessness and failure. She should have been there for him!

She reached Damos' quarters quickly, at the moment the storm that had been readying itself for the entire day finally broke loose. Judging from the noise the people on the street didn't allow themselves to be deterred by something as harmless as rain and thunder. Valentine was glad she had asked Meta to stay behind in her quarters.

She fell to one knee in front of her King. "My King… I bring you news." She started, wringing the words out of her throat. Damas said nothing, causing her to look up.

A flash of lightning flashed by, illuminating his face. Tears had welled up in his eyes, and he seemed to have grown older by ten years. The horrible news had outrun her, and Damas had already begun his grieving.

"I am so terribly sorry…" Valentine said, bowing her head again. More than wishing to avoid seeing her King cry, Valentine wanted to hide her own tears from him. She remained there, kneeling on one knee, one hand on her back. Outside the storm increased, lightning and rain bashing down on Spargus. She lamented her weakness, her wrong decisions.

"Don't mourn for too long." Damas finally said. Apart from an initial quiver his voice was steady. Valentine looked up, tears still streaming from her eyes. The pain she felt now was so much more real than the pain the Dark Eco rampaging her body caused her. Damas continued.  
"We are weapons. Forged in the heat of the desert. Iron and Precursor steel." He kept his sentences short in order not to break down, at least not visibly. He took a deep breath, looking back at Valentine.

"I know you hate that body of yours. I see it in your eyes every day. But, Valentine, will you fight for me? Be a weapon in defense of this city?"

Valentine nodded. She stood up, not bothering to wipe the tears of her face. She would cry later on, once more, in the solitude of her room. For the last time. "I will be your sword and your shield. My life before yours, my King. Strong as Precursor Steel."

They listened to the storm rage on for a long time, Damas with his back turned towards her. Valentine remained there for as long as she was allowed to, before retreating back to her room.

A weapon. That was what she would become.

|Three Weeks Later|

She had once again been summoned by the Council in relation to her Trials. Just one more and she would be a full citizen of Spargus. More importantly, Damas would be able to officially recognize her as his Guardian. It was her rightful place, as the last one of her family to guard the last descendant of Mar. She could feel her chest tighten as she thought about that name. More than a dead hero from ages gone by, that name was the name of a child she had held very dear.

"Then what would you suggest for a Trial?" Seem asked. Though the monk was by no means an official part of the Council, in order to keep them friendly Damas had to allow them a say in matters. The monk still hadn't forgiven Valentine for being infected with Dark Eco.

"No matter what we choose, it's either too much or too easy." Mihko mumbled. The man had been in charge of her further training. In an attempt to block out her sorrow whenever she thought about who had died in Haven, Valentine had reported for additional bouts in the Arena. She had gotten stronger than before, having done essentially nothing but eating, sleeping and training.

Kleiver pulled up his belt, burping as he did so. Valentine supposed there was a reason Seem avoided the man so harshly as she did. And still Seem considered Valentine even worse. Now that was an insult.  
"How about we just throw her in a Metal Head nest and be done with it? I know one not too far from here."

Metal Head nest. Now that got her thinking. Back at the facility half a year back she had released several Metal Heads. Instead of attacking her the creatures had flushed out the rest of the guards and scientists there, making her job extremely easy. She looked back at Meta, who was snoring gently behind Damas' throne.

"My King, how useful would you say Meta is?" she asked out loud. The group seemed to be quite disturbed at this question, but still Damas answered her.

"This one? From what I have seen it seems to be capable at defending herself and you. Why?"

Valentine frowned, scratching her head as she thought out loud. "We don't have any ways of scouting the desert efficiently. No way to cross it except in cars and they get attacked by the Marauders all the time. Except me. When I approached that facility, they never had a clue I was there. Because I wasn't alone." She looked back at the group, who clearly weren't following her way of thinking. "I agree with Kleiver. Send me in a Metal Head nest."

|The Next Day|

Of course actually going through with the plan wasn't quite as easy as just saying it. Kleiver had been the one dropping her off as near the Nest as he dared – which wasn't that close. It had taken her a lot of pleading with her King who didn't want to drop a valuable asset as an afternoon snack in a nest of vicious predators. All had seemed quite lost until Mihko had finally pointed out that, seeing as how the Arena was a no-go, Valentine would have to prove herself in the most extreme way possible.

She couldn't think of anything more extreme than going for some afternoon tea in a Metal Nest.

Valentine found herself looking at the gaping mouth of the Nest. She had been spotted a while ago, but the wasteland variant of a Scout hadn't bothered her. Instead they were walking at the sides, slowly escorting her to where she had to be. The surroundings of the Nest had some sort of vegetation growing. She doubted it was suitable for her to eat, but the scurrying of big rodents showed that some animals could find nutrition here.

Meta let out something between a growl and a whimper when a large Metal-saur came out of the cave entrance. Walking on two legs, it towered over Valentine and her companion. It let out a roar, blowing her hair away from her face.

Valentine lifted up her hands, to show she was unarmed. Or as unarmed as she could be. "Easy! I come in peace." After a short deliberation she added :"Take me to your leader."  
The Saur snorted, the movement of air sending her back a few paces. Truth be told, she had suggested this partly in the hope that if she failed, she'd be able to go down in a blaze of glory. Either she proved she could do this, or she was unworthy to serve her King.

Two outcomes. Life or death.

When the great beast turned around, it reared its head once to see if she was following. Valentine swallowed. She had gotten so used to be around Meta that it was a shock to realize other Metal Heads wouldn't be so even-tempered as her friend. She looked at Meta, who did the Metal version of a shrug at the questioning look sent her way.

And so Valentine followed the Saur, inside the gaping hole in the rock. Once she stepped inside the temperature dropped considerably, sending goose bumps over every displayed inch of skin. Several small Spiders ran around, scurrying to get out of the way of the Saur. They scurried around Meta and Valentine in the same way, their head gems lighting up in the half-dark of the passage.

Despite the horrifying chill it sent through her body to be in this nest, she couldn't ignore the sounds of life that were all around her. Metal Heads were screeching at one another, others seemed to howling and the pattering of claws and paws could be heard all around. In one place she could see several eggs, lighting up as a slim species of Metal Head that she hadn't encountered before moved around them. It had long tendrils, which it used to stroke over the surface of the eggs. When it caught Valentine's look it stared back at her, letting out a sort of clicking sound.

Meta's head swerved around, trying to see everything at once. Valentine wondered how much Meta remembered of the Metal Head life. She saw a Scout running by and frowned. Even though her friend was already nearing adult size, the desert variant seemed to grow up to a half more.

Finally they reached a great hall-like structure, lit up by the glow of Dark Eco bubbling around them. The Saur let out a howl, calling for its Metal King. Valentine glanced around her, nervous at the presence of the Dark Eco. Without any sort of protection between her and liquid energy it seemed to burn itself in her mind, overpowering even Its voice.

She cast her blue eyes upwards, towards the ceiling and had to swallow. There was no way she would ever be able to fight something like that with her bare hands. She cursed herself for coming here without any weapons.  
Bigger than the Saur, the Metal King gazed down on her. The eyes seemed to shine with malicious intent as it looked upon her. After a short grunt from it the Saur left, leaving Valentine and Meta alone with it. It started to descend from the ceiling, never once taking its eyes away from her.

Valentine didn't back down. She lifted up her chin, standing up straight. No matter what would come to pass now, she would face her fate with dignity. She would be a true Guardian of Mar. Though not dying would of course be the preferred course of action.

And yet she couldn't help but keep her eyes from widening as the Metal King started to transform on the way down. Claws retracted as it came down, skin changing color and melding into itself. Legs and arms formed, the strange feelers surrounding its face retracting. Hair black as coal formed on the head as golden eyes kept focusing on her. The only thing that it couldn't seem to change was the gem located on the forehead. Not that it mattered, somehow it only added to the strange and supernatural aura of the King.

By the time it came down on the ground it had a completely normal, male body. As Valentine noticed clothes weren't a package deal she quickly averted her eyes back up. She was met by a face framed with slicked back, black hair. Golden eyes and a perfectly straight nose seemed to fashioned purely because the Metal King seemed to have thought it would be appealing.

More astounding was the fact that the Metal King had a smile on his face, showing pearly white teeth.

It stepped towards her, with long and smooth strides. Valentine couldn't move. She had not been expecting this. She had expected being confronted with the Metal King as it truly was, not this form. What the hell gave him the right to be so… appealing?

When the King finally was in front of her, he stretched out a hand. "This is a custom amongst your kind, is it not?"

For all her smarts, the only thing Valentine could bring out at this moment was :"Yeah."

Another smile followed, seemingly supposed to bring her comfort. It only succeeded partly as Valentine was fighting very hard to not let her eyes stray. If only it had been able to transform clothes as well, wouldn't that have been fair? She hoped it wouldn't notice the obvious blush on her cheeks.

"I am very pleased to meet you. My kin has brought me much news about you." The King continued. "It would please me if you were to address me with Ma'al."

"Ma'al." Valentine repeated. "My name is Valentine." He was still shaking her hand, seemingly happy to keep this up for a very long time if it was necessary. "What have you heard about me, exactly?"

The smile never once left his face. "My kin, the ones you released from that prison, they told me that a very special sort of Metal King was wandering the Wasteland. Welcome, Valentine, my fellow Metal King, Dark Walker, Destroyer of Foes and Song of This World. Your presence brings a great joy to my heart."


	21. Poison

|Metal Nest|

As Ma'al let go of her hand, Valentine looked up at him. The Metal King was a good head taller than she was, which she counted as a good thing giving his current lack of attire. She focused on his eyes, determined to not let her eyes stray any lower than shoulder level. This was not the kind of battle she had been expecting.

"So… Ma'al." she started. The King neighed his head towards her, looking down with a faint smile on his face. "This isn't really how I imagined things would be going. I vaguely suspected there would be some more… fighting going on."

Her own King had finally agreed to send her into the Metal nest with one assignment. Either strike a deal of some sorts with the Metal Heads, or incapacitate the entire structure. Everybody had assumed that even for the first part she would have had to fight in order to show some sort of dominance.

Ma'als eyes widened slightly, seemingly surprised at her uttering. Then he looked up at the ceiling as if he didn't want to meet her eyes. "I apologize, I should have realized that you would want to have a Hunt with me. Sadly enough the mating season of the most worthy preys has just ended. All that is left is some measly prey that would never suit your palate."   
He looked down on her again, clearly uncomfortable with this situation. "I would pray that this does not deter our future comradeship."

Now it was Valentine's turn to be startled. If the King had never intended to fight her, but rather with her, than she had been misinterpreting a lot of things. "Say, all those things you called me just now… Dark Walker and Song of this World and such. Is there a reason for that?"

He seemed to be startled by the question, another emotion she would never have expected from him. "I apologize, my fellow King." He told her. She noted that she could add an inability to see gender was also a part of Ma'al. "I forgot that you come from a different kind than mine. With a position like ours, of course you would be conferred some titles. Please don't worry, you are just as high in ranking as all the other Kings."

So that was it. It would seem that her infection with Dark Eco had led the Metal Heads to assume she was some sort of leader, similar to their Hive leaders. So that was the reason she hadn't been gobbled up the moment she set foot in here. If he did indeed consider her to be an equal, then she could take her advantage. Probably.  
"I was sent here to establish a truce between your Nest and the city of Spargus." She told him.

His mouth formed an 'oh', before he motioned for her to walk with him. Meta followed behind them, sniffing up the air as they moved. "Please tell me more" He encouraged her.

"Well… you seem to know about me and Meta." she started, gesturing vaguely to her companion. The further they went inside the nest, the darker it became. Ma'als gemstone gave off a honeyed color in the dark. "And I suggested to the others that, if it were possible, we could employ more Metal Scouts to help protect our city."

Valentine was thankful for the darkness, since it meant she could finally lower her eyes below shoulder level and not be embarrassed. Still there was a pause in the King's step before he spoke again. "You wish us to agree to an alliance with food?"

"They're not food." Valentine objected. "They are my species, my Hive if you will. And it had been brought to my attention that perhaps this would be good for your nest as well. If you were to work together with the city, none of your kin would have to be killed anymore."

Ma'al seemed to consider her words, running a hand across some eggs that were encapsulated against the wall. As his hand stroked over them their green-yellowish light grew brighter, illuminating the corridor they were in now. "It is true that it would be good for my Nest if they stopped killing my children." he finally conceded to her. "But entering an alliance with us does not mean all of my kind will accept this truce."

Valentine looked at him, not understanding. Ma'al sighed, reminding himself that even though this King shared his powers and position, there was not a shared memory as with the rest of the Kings. "We rarely fight one another, except over territory or food. But if we were to gain a better position with this alliance, there is a good chance that the other Kings will try to wipe you out even harder. After all, the Dark Makers are on their way again, and many wish to support them."

"Dark Makers?" Valentine asked. This was a term she was unfamiliar with.

Ma'al continued his walk across the corridor, his hand gently running across the eggs. "The creators of this world. Many of my kin believe we would be wise to join them, so the world may be re-created according to our wishes. That would mean destroying your other kin." His golden eyes gleamed as he continued, ill hidden anger sounding through his voice. "Of course my voice means nothing among the other Kings, since I am the youngest. I wish to simply let this world be as it is, instead of risking our chances with some old Gods who return from the stars."

Valentine kept quiet as Ma'al explained about his position among the Metal Kings. Apart from size of their Nests, age was also taken into account. Perhaps this would explain the man's more jovial acceptance of her. If compared to the politics of Haven City, he would have been one of those voting for innovation, instead of clinging to old values. As he talked, she learned more about how a Nest functioned, how a Hive was maintained. He promised her that the bond she held with Meta was one she could also have with other Metal Heads, including him.

"Does this mean you will allow some of your scouts to live with us?" she asked him. They had arrived at a bubbling pool of Eco, where some of the Grunts were dragging meat from. They cast a look at Ma'al and Valentine, before retreating.

"Hungry?" Ma'al asked, gesturing towards the meat on the ground. It crackled with Dark Eco, sending shivers through Valentine's spine.

"I'm not hungry, thank you."

Ma'al folded his arms behind his back in the half-dark of the nest. All around them was the light of Dark Eco and growing eggs. "It is your intention to pair my children to the children of your other kin?" he asked her. When she nodded he continued with a sigh. "That is a heavy thing you ask. Not to mention that the Scouts have already hatched, and it will be another year before I am once again able to lay eggs."

Valentine accidently misplaced her step when she heard that. "Excuse me?"

"It will be another year before I am able to lay eggs." He repeated, looking at her as if he didn't understand her problem. "What are you so surprised about?"

Valentine ran a hand through her hair. "In my kind it's the female that carries the children."

His eyes widened at this news. As he leaned closer to her, she arched her back just a little bit. Personal space was something that apparently meant very little to him. "Are you serious?" he asked her in surprise. She nodded, and a sad look suddenly spread on his face.

"This is most unfortunate. I had been hoping that by my next fertile period I would have been able to ask you as a breeding mate. But if we are both designed to carry eggs it would prove to be a very fruitless endeavor."

Valentine suddenly found herself choking on air, coughing violently at this remark. This behavior seemed to confound him ever more as he looked down on her in a panic.  
"Have I said something wrong?"

She waved a hand up to him, at the same time petting Meta who seemed to believe Valentine was suddenly dying."No, no. It's just that I'm not used to men suggesting breeding the first time we speak, that's all."

"I am sorry if I offended you." he offered. Like Meta he seemed to be concerned that she was suddenly dying of a serious illness.

"Cultural differences." She replied, getting back up. Now THAT had caught her by surprise. She suspected she ought to be grateful, if she returned with an engagement to a Metal King she doubted anyone would be able to survive the shock in Spargus.

They had arrived at a field of eggs, glowing bright in the darkness. "Despite this disappointment…" Ma'al continued, seemingly truly sorry they would not be having any eggs together. "… I assume we could try to get along for the time being. If our alliance should prove fruitful, I promise you the first of my Scouts of next year."

Valentine looked up in surprise. "Really?"

Ma'al nodded. "Times are changing, and only old fools refuse to change along with them. I intend for my Nest to endure the coming time. If this means that I should accept an alliance with this Spargus of yours, I will do so." He looked down at her, serious. "I do hope we can become Nestmates, as we are both Kings."

Valentine let out a nervous titter. Of course the first appealing guy who was actually interested in her would be a Metal King. "Let's start with being friends first."

|Spargus|

After all was said and done, things had become hectic. For a few weeks Valentine found herself caught in diplomatic missions to the Metal Nest, getting herself acquainted with King Damas' personal schedule and finding a place of her own. Apart from that, Macie had organized a party for her, to celebrate her becoming a full citizen of Spargus.

Right now she was looking out over the city, seeing nothing but lights lit in windows and hearing voices carried over the streets. She couldn't help but think about the hustle and bustle of Haven City. Spargus was a fine place to live, but in her mind there was no replacement for Haven.

So far there had been no sign of little Mar's body. Every day she was the first to see the list of bodies that had been salvaged from the wreckage, and although they had managed to find most of her Uncle's body, there was no sign of the Kid. She coughed, not for the first time of the day. She hoped she wasn't getting sick. She and Damos had the silent understanding that as long as there was no body, they would keep hoping Mar was still alive.

She coughed again, more violently than the first time. Despite this, she kept her thoughts on Haven City. They had been getting reports, sometimes daily, sometimes with a week in between. No matter when they came, the news was never good. After a first week of peace and hope, it had become clear that a splinter group of the Krimzon Guard refused to step under the command of Ashelin. And if that wasn't bad enough, the surviving Metal Head's that had been under Kor's command were now determined to get into the city on their own.

She had asked Ma'al if he could perhaps take the rampaging Metal Heads under his wings, but the King had given her a decisive no. Metal Heads only ever obeyed their Father, and with Kor gone there was no way of pacifying them. Ma'al doubted if they would even let him be in peace if he were to be in the vicinity.

The thought about what was happening to Haven was threatening to pull her apart. If she had still been in the city… if she had never left… if only Jak had-

 _'JAK!'_ The thought awakened It, who had normally been so dormant in these past few weeks. Valentine grabbed her chest, resisting the urge to cough. _'Kill him! Spill his blood and make him pay!'_ The voice suggested to her. Valentine could say nothing to refuse that notion, it had been exactly what she was planning on doing if she ever laid eyes on him again.

With a grunt she struggled on her feet, grabbing her head with one hand, trying to ease the painful beating of her heart with the other. _'No need to hold back, just attack and rip his eyes out, snap bones!'_

She could feel the ripples pulling through her body, as if she was going to transform. It grabbed at the edges of her consciousness, trying to take over her body. "No…" she mumbled, grabbing back her sanity. She refused to give over the control of her body. She coughed again, doubling over with the force. Something splat over her feet, dark and sticky. Shakily she wiped her mouth, looking at her hand in the moonlight. Blood glistened on her fingers, making her feel even sicker.

 _'Blood, need more blood.'_ The voice whispered inside of her, coiling around her mind. _'If you won't give me blood, I'll destroy you.'_ It suddenly promised. _'Destroy your body, destroy your mind. Give me what I want, give me blood and gore. Go to Haven and kill everyone. Kill everyone here as well.'_

"Like hell I will." She mumbled. She coughed again, blood splatting on the stones underneath her. "Meta!" she screamed. If this kept up, she might go unconscious. If that happened, there was no telling what would happen. Maybe It would take over her body.   
"Meta, get here!" she yelled again. Tears crept into the corners of her eyes. This wasn't an enemy she could fight. This thing was inside her mind.

Meta arrived, landing on the roof. The gem in her head seemed to tingle with energy. At this moment Valentine couldn't care less. She stumbled towards her friend, hands clasped over her stomach. Swinging a leg over her friend, she told her where to go. "Go to the monks."

It wasn't far off at all. Spargus wasn't that big, and the monks inhabited the palace with Damos. Valentine pressed her hand against Meta's gem, allowing herself to see what the Metal Head could see. Ma'al had thought her to hold on to that connection. "Find Seem." She told her friend. Flying on the Scout was one thing, but running was extremely clumsy.

She followed, pushing aside flabbergasted monks who couldn't believe she of all people was here. When one of them thought to stop her, she knocked them into the wall. Still, she couldn't allow herself to draw blood. It was in a frenzy, It was trying to stop her from getting help. Sometimes her hands jerked involuntarily, or one of her feet would suddenly attempt to stop her by tripping.

She followed Meta's directions. Through the Scout's eyes she could see Meta had Seem pinned in her own room, stopping the monk from coming out. She was grateful for the way her friend had found who was perhaps her only chance at a rescue.

"Seem!" she yelled, stumbling in the room. She couldn't imagine what sight she was now, blood caking around her mouth and on her hands.   
"I need your help." She pleaded. Pain struck through her stomach, almost sending her to her knees.

"Why should I help you?" Seem asked, trying to ignore the growling predator at her feet. "I have been voting for your death ever since the day you came here." Well, Seem was nothing if not honest in this matter.

"Because this thing inside of me doesn't have a problem with killing everyone here!" Valentine snapped, before another violent cough almost made her choke in her own blood.   
"So if you don't want to get yourself and all of your monks killed right now, you help me!" Valentine couldn't hold on anymore, dropping to her knees. Her long hair trailed to the ground as she started to shake in an effort to stop the violent thrashing of Eco inside of her.

"Help me… please." Valentine said, ashamed she had to revert to pleading. But there was nothing else to be done. If she had to beg in order to keep It sealed away, she would.

It was quiet for a few more seconds, before finally Seem said something. "Beast, bring your master to the bed." Meta at once obeyed, helping Valentine back to her feet. When Valentine was on her back, Seem wasted to time in examining her.

"Your pupils are dilated." She noted, before gesturing to one of the gaping monks to start prepare a potion. Seem ran a hand across the now black veins across Valentine's throat, before unbuttoning her shirt. "These are the symptoms of an advanced Eco Poisoning." The monk finally said.

Valentine stifled a scream. "Then what is supposed to be done about this?"

"We've never encountered a case as bad as this. You should be dead three times over by now.'" Seem said, getting up to rummage through a cabinet.

"Well, I'm not dead yet." Valentine spat, her patience wearing thin as the pain continued. This was not one of those moments where her otherwise acute mind had the time to analyze things. Her vision started to go blurry, rendering the glittering white rock in Seem's hand to a white orb. "What's… that?" she choked out.

"Crystallized Light Eco." Seem answered her curtly. The other monk had seemingly finished preparing the potion. With a pointed look towards Valentine, and a slight hesitation, she finally took what vaguely resembled a file.

Valentine fought to remain conscious. It was already euphoric, certain It would win. Her field of vision narrowed, until the only thing she could see was the shining white liquid in the vial that Seem was raising towards her mouth.

"I hope you will not lead me to regret this… if you survive."


	22. Oncoming Storm

|Seem's Quarters|

Valentine woke up when she thought somebody was attempting to drown her. Spluttering she struggled up on her elbows, only to be pushed down again by a very agitated Macie who was currently wiping her face with a very wet cloth.

"Macie? What are you doing here?" Valentine asked, before the woman shut her up by wiping her mouth with the cloth. It was either shut up or drown. Instead of answering the woman put a well-filled basket in front of her, the smell of food filling the room.

"I was on my way to bring you your dinner when I heard from my nephew he saw you rushing towards here." Judging from the strands of hair that had managed to escape her normally immaculate bun, it was obvious the woman had ran all the way here.   
"Always getting yourself into trouble." The woman tsk-ed at her, wiping Valentine's face. "I know how hungry you always are, so you'd better eat up."

Valentine looked to the side, seeing a very annoyed Seem tapping her foot at the intrusion. Apparently the monk had been unable to get rid of the new visitor. Noticing she was being ignored for the moment, she reached a hand inside the basket of food. For now she felt no urge to cough, and even the pain seemed to be slightly less. If that wasn't cause for a celebratory piece of Macie's triple-layered whipped cream pie, nothing was.

"I know that my patient appreciates the concern." Seem said, not even putting as much venom in the word 'patient' as she could have. Seems like all Valentine had had to do to make the death wishes stop was to show up coughing blood. If it hadn't been so painful she might have actually considered it as a tactic.   
"But right now the best thing would be for her to sleep, and maybe have some very light broth. Nothing heavy such as…"

Seem's voice trailed away as she laid her eyes on Valentine, who was currently occupied with stuffing her mouth full of cake. Noticing both her current caretakers looking at her, she only managed to bring out a 'what', gently spraying whipped cream over the bed.

"Dear Precursors." Seem softly muttered, making every attempt not to facepalm.   
"Madam, if you could please get out, I will make sure she rests up." The monk started to gently lead Macie out of the room. The only reason it seemed to be working was that Valentine continued eating the pie, to the elder woman's obvious delight.

"As for you-" Seem started, closing the door behind her. "- is there a reason why you only sought my help now? Your symptoms were quite severe."

"Well, you did vote for my death every time you had an opportunity." Valentine offered as a very valid reason.   
"And it always hurts, so I just thought I'd suck it up. Cake?" she ended, offering a piece, as some sort of peace pie.

Bewildered Seem accepted the cake, sitting down on a simple chair. Her dark brown eyes never left her new patient, whose sole focus at this moment seemed to be how much food she could get into her body as fast as possible. "You've always seemed like a very… happy person."   
Seem started, suddenly unsure about how she ought to proceed. It always hurt, so much that she didn't think it would be lethal? Just how much pain was this woman going through? Not to mention she had also survived the treatment.   
"Just what are you?" Seem asked, her voice barely a whisper.

Valentine wiped her mouth with her wrist. The bandages on her upper body kept her decent, but even then, Seem had probably seen quite a lot as a physician in this city. She could feel the corner of her mouth pull in a sad grin.   
"What I am?" she repeated, suddenly seeming much younger than her years. She brought a hand to her chest, giving it a tap with a single finger. "I don't know. People have been telling me what I was supposed to be ever since Praxis managed to catch me. Weapon. Guardian. Avenger. Partner." Some bitterness when she mentioned that title.   
"King as well, for some reason." She added the last part with a laugh, thinking about Ma'al. Though even if she had taken on the roles people had expected her to take, needed her to take, she had always managed to find some way to give it a touch of her own. And being a Guardian was not a job at all. Mar had been as good as her life, and now she would dedicate herself to her father.  
"And in your eyes, I'm an abomination." She added the last part as an afterthought, not as bitter as she could have been.

Seem started when Valentine pointed her blue eyes on her. For the first time Seem really registered Valentine, not as someone who was infected with that which Seem had considered the sole territory of their creators, but as a person. A person who was suffering.

"Please don't try to deny it." She continued. "In Haven, that's what most people would have felt if I wasn't useful. I just made things worse, by trying to make a cure."

"A cure?" Now this was something that Seem knew about. "What kind of cure?"

Valentine looked around, searching for Meta. She soon spotted her friend, lying underneath a table, sleeping. "I used Meta's blood to make an anti-dote for the Eco. But instead of allowing my body to digest the Eco, it locked it inside of me. I can't get it out anymore, like I used to."

"That's why you had those symptoms." The monk stood up, placing the untouched cake on a low table as she moved. When Seem returned she was carrying the same, white stone that she had grated some dust off before Valentine had finally fainted. "If you are indeed storing the Eco inside you, you will end up with Eco poisoning again. I managed to cure you with this."

Valentine eyed the white rock, suspicious. "What's that?"

"Like I said, crystallized Light Eco. The natural counter-part of the Dark Eco you were infected with. My tincture this time was crude, but at least it worked. I'll work harder on the next one." Seem said, holding the rock reverently.

Valentine couldn't believe her ears. "You're going to help me? But… why?"

"It's obvious you're important to King Damas, and you've already played a part in helping the city. Other than that, I can't risk you indeed losing control to that demon inside of you. The oaths I swore force me to help anybody who clearly needs my help." She placed the rock back on a velvet cushion, murmuring some ancient words over it. "Other than that… I would appreciate it if you would give me any Eco stones you come across in the Wasteland."

Valentine nodded, and couldn't help but smile at the otherwise so hostile monk. "Thanks Seem. You're a pretty nice gal after all. I won't forget it."

"You're still an idiot." Seem replied to that with an uncharacteristic directness.

|Haven City|

Things had been bad in Haven, and they were on a rapid course to worse. Chance of blood and dismemberment very high, with a possibility of hostile robots later in the day. That was how Daxter had described it this morning, and should Jak have asked him again how things were looking, he would have given the exact same answer. Along with a few swears regarding his now singed tail.

Jak couldn't believe how things could have gone like this. One moment he was a celebrated hero, who had delivered the entire city from both Praxis and Kor – even if he hadn't really killed the Baron himself – and now things were falling apart right underneath his nose. Sometimes even quite literally, as he had to dodge a piece of masonry dropping of a seemingly sturdy building.

"If only we know who to take out, we could be out there in the Wasteland doing something useful." Jak grumbled to Daxter. His best friend was keeping his eyes pointed upward in case of more falling building pieces.

"Well, you heard what mister grouch had to say." His orange companion replied, referring to Torn. "The KG have a new leader, the Metal Heads are going CRAZY without theirs, and they don't seem to be willing to go over to that new King we've heard about."

Rumors about a new Metal King had been all around the city. There was no way of telling who had started them, but they were there. Even Jak knew, and he had never paid much attention to gossip.  
Somewhere in the Wasteland, a new King had arisen. There was word it had even managed to merge with another Nest. To be able to dominate another King… not even Kor had been able to do that. Jak wondered what that beastie looked like.

Even worse, at least for him, was that he could feel people staring at him as he walked by. Blaming him for the current situation. The Underground members had been more forgiving, but even among them there had been whispers. If there was one that made his blood boil, it was the rumor that he had let Praxis take Valentine, so he could be the only hero for sure.

He growled at one of the passerby's, a young woman who hurried along with a sudden screech.   
"Who the hell would do something like that?" he asked out loud, looking at the sky. There wasn't a night when he didn't replay that scenario in his head. If only he hadn't gone to Keira beforehand, if only he had run a bit faster, drove a bit faster… so many if's. None of them ever managed to satisfy them.

Part of the problem was that they didn't have a common ruler to unite under. Little Mar had been supposed to take the throne, but everybody knew how old the kid was supposed to be. Nobody would believe him if he claimed to be the child. Even if he had the talisman. And even then, he didn't know if he would want to rule. For now, Ashelin was doing a good job, the best she could in these circumstances.

Once they had made their way into the Naughty Ottsel, Jak could feel Daxter tense up. He had often, very often, complained about what they had done to his pride and joy. After Torn had transformed it into one of the HQ's, the inside of the place had taken a remarkable resemblance to the old Underground headquarters. That also included Torn calling the shots.

"I want men stationed at the Western exit gates, we are NOT letting those Metal Heads push us back any further. Keep the tech guys safe at all times, they're the ones who are putting up the barriers." Torn said in his usual raspy voice. Only when talking to Ashelin did the man ever sound a little bit softer. If a rock could ever soften up.   
"Jak."

Jak acknowledged Torn's nod, somehow losing Daxter to Tess in the small distance he had to walk to the center table. "What ya got for me?" he asked, stroking the gun at his side.

"Bad news, I'm afraid. Ashelin says the Council had their first meeting yesterday, and she heard your name more than she would have liked. There's a very good chance that they'll be putting the blame on you officially."

"They what?" Jak shouted, though his reaction was ignored by most of the people in the ex-bar. By now people had learned they shouldn't mess with him if they valued their hides. Not that Jak had meant to punch that one guy through two walls and a china set. It just… kinda happened.

"Keep a good eye on your back. The Council is powerful in this city, at least they are again now that Praxis is out of the picture. It wouldn't surprise me if they try to capture you in the middle of the night. Sleep at Valentine's place, at least until the heat blows over." Torn suggested to him, knowing all too well the hero had been avoiding the place recently. Too many memories. Even happy memories had a tendency to haunt a man.

"I'll think about it." Jak said, averting his eyes. He startled when Torn grabbed him by the hair yanking him to face the former KG.

"You are going there, every night, until I give you orders not to. Got that, soldier?" Torn growled at him. He had experience with Valentine. When someone infected with Dark Eco was acting up, the best way to go was be the alpha. But only if getting punched in the face was an acceptable price to pay.

Jak finally nodded, sincerely. "Fine, I'll go there. Say Torn… we'll find her, won't we? There's no way she'll die out there?"   
That was his worst fear. Valentine dying before he was able to find her. He had to protect her, like he had done here in Haven. It was weird to realize that she had taken care of him when he had been a kid. But the moment he had escaped Praxis' prison he had been teamed up with her. Protecting her and laughing with her. He couldn't ignore that kind of bond.

"That girl is though as nails. Odds are she has half the Wasteland doing her bidding while eliminating every Metal she sees. Afterwards she probably has some tea to was it all down." Torn reassured his friend.

|Wasteland, One Year Later|

When Torn had spoken those words, he had had no idea how true they were. If one was willing to somehow mash that last bit together in having tea with the Metal King.

Right now Valentine was holding Koram pinned to the ground, his arms behind his back as the boy kicked his legs around to no avail. Sweat dripped from their bodies, as well as from the two kids that were watching the sparring.

"I already told you, don't try to attack a more skilled opponent head on." She reminded the boy, standing up. When he didn't attempt to get back up on his own she reached down and pulled him up by his collar. Dangling him in the air like that, the kid had the gall to give her a cheeky smile.

"Sorry General." He said, not sounding sorry at the very least. "It's just that I want to get stronger really fast. So that's why I gotta fight you, right?"

Valentine let him drop to the ground, looking to the other two kids. "How about you two? Any of you planning on attacking me right away, or can we get some training done first?"

The two girls shook their heads, finally joining their teachers and fellow student in the middle of the Arena. Valentine watched the three of them carefully. Koram was only ten, but built like he was eight. With a small frame like his, he'd had a rough time in the junior training. Until Valentine had picked him up.

The two girls were sisters, tanned with the desert sun. Both Kiara and Maylee had been among the first Valentine had wanted to pick, and Damos had let her. If she truly wanted to build a reconnaissance force for Spargus that worked together with the Metal Heads, she would have the best results if she let the kids grow up with their partners. Ma'al had promised her three eggs, if she could show she had worthy partners for his children.

Other than that, the three children had something else in common. All three of them were orphans, their parents gone in the war that now ravaged Haven. This was her once chance to do something for the city, from this far away. With a smile she knelt down in front of Koram, running a hand through his ruddy hair.

"You're dirty." She said, licking her finger before she cleaned the dark spot on his nose.

"That's because you dropped me on the ground." The boy protested, trying to squirm his way loose. The girls giggled nervously, not sure if they could trust this strange person just yet. This was only the first week of their training.

"There, you're all clean now." Valentine announced with a smile as the boy rubbed his face all over to get rid of any spit residues. At the sudden stab in her heart she reached for the flask tied to her belt. It contained the medicine that Seem was still trying to perfect. Holding up a hand to tell the kids she'd continue in a moment she brought the burning liquid to her mouth. It hurt going down and it hurt on the inside, but it was a lot better than coughing up blood.

"Today we're going to start with running laps." She stated, re-attaching the flask.   
When the kids let out a groan, she continued talking. "After that, we're going to hit some dummies." 

More groans. 

"And once that is finished…" she watched as the kids seemed to sink into the ground, getting more dejected with every word she spoke.  
"Well, I know an ice cream vendor that still owes me a favor. So, once we finished that, we go out and have a little bit of a cool down." She looked down at her little charges, afraid of loving them too much, and not loving them enough. "Unless you little hatchlings aren't up for anything like that, of course."

With a surge of enthusiasm the kids assured her that wasn't the case at all. As she watched the threesome running around the Arena, sweat dripping of them, she cast a look out of the open wall. The sounds of waves crashing and birds screeching could be heard all the way inside. It was sad to know that a war was ravaging her home city. She wished she could do something to help. But at the same time she knew her place was here now, in this community.

It was not like her old life was going to come crashing into Spargus, right?


	23. First Crack

|Spargus|

There was a storm coming. Valentine could smell it in the air, the scent of copper that hailed thunder. She had thought she knew what a storm was in Haven, until she had seen her first one here. The dry land was drenched in water, turning the normally peaceful desert almost in an ocean.

Her boots clicked on the stones beneath her feet as she made her way to the Arena. There was still so much to do for her today. Apart from supervising the Arena – Mihko had allowed for her to take partial control when she was there – she was also supposed to take a check on the storages. After that she had promised to help train some new recruits. She also needed to pick up her laundry and some more bandages. Koram somehow seemed to manage scraping his knees and elbows every other day, leading her to use her previously limited nursing skills.

Almost three years. Sometimes she was hit by the amount of time that had passed since she had been captured in Haven and ended up here. Every day she thought a little bit less about her old life, though she could still be hit by flashes of longing. Spargus had very little to offer in technology for one. And she had not been able to contact Torn, Samos or Tess either since that one message which she hoped had gotten through.

A thought of Jak sent a dangerous chill down her spine, which she quickly suppressed. If there was one person that could get her blood boiling it was him. Her hand traced the flask on her hip, containing the medicine Seem kept supplying her with. She hadn't died, so they assumed it was working. She only had to be careful not to get worked up. It inside her fed on her anger, and turned it against her, corroding her body from the inside out.

With a free hand she wiped the sweat of her brow as she entered King Damos' lodge above the Arena. Here was her place, at his side, keeping him safe. And yet she was stopped dead in her tracks by the sight of someone she had never expected to see.

"Pecker?" she brought out, her blue eyes big in surprise. "What are you doing here?" What was going on?

The feathered monkey seemed equally surprised to see her here. "Valentine! I had a feeling we would run into you sooner or later. But it would seem you have risen to great heights, my girl."

She grabbed him by the beak, leaving him flapping in mid-air. "That doesn't answer my question, Pecker."

"We found him in the desert, on our latest patrol." Damos told her, seated on that stone torture device he called a proper viewing place. When he was inconvenienced Valentine had to sit there in his stead. That thing managed to make all feeling in her ass disappear after a measly five minutes. "It will be useful to have someone who can amuse me."

Valentine let go off Pecker, who flew to the sides with a gasp. Meta growled at him, causing him to choose another direction. "You have changed quite a bit." Pecker said to her, almost sounding accusing. "The old you would never have mistreated me in such a way."

Valentine leaned into the stone balcony, raising an eyebrow at him. "Just think about what my King has told you, Pecker. Either you're useful, or you're dead weight. Now, start making yourself useful." She snapped back at him, not feeling very sociable with someone who should have stayed in her past. Just seeing Pecker brought back memories of the Bazaar. Memories of…

Shaking her head she took a big swill of the flask. It burnt as it went down, reminding her of her taint. "My King has kept his new pet a secret for me." she observed, ignoring Pecker as he started to warm up the audience. "You picked him up after your venture of a few days ago?" she continued.

The look Damos gave her was almost unreadable. Yet she caught the hint that what was going to happen next would probably be highly unpleasant for her. "Valentine, you know that we cannot afford to throw away anything here that is useful." He waited for her to nod before he continued. "What we came upon in the desert was-"

Her attention for her King's words was interrupted by Pecker's voice. "Let's hear it for Jak and his obnoxious, talking animal!"

She felt the ground sinking from beneath her feet. With those words her entire world came crashing down. This was impossible! He was supposed to be in Haven. He was never supposed to be here. Why was he here?  
Her body started to burn at the thought of him being nearby. She managed to stay standing on her feet while coughing. Her head was swimming as she tried to wrap her head around this event. This had to be a nightmare!

|Arena|

Jak looked around him, up towards the people cheering and screaming things. The ceiling was almost too high for understanding, the heat nearly boiling him as soon as he stepped inside. Looking up he soon saw the man who had told him what was expected of him. And next to him…  
He nearly missed a step, his mouth dropping open. Was he still suffering from overheating, or was this actually happening? Valentine was standing next to the king, her hands digging into the stone balcony as she looked down. He had almost forgotten what she looked like. Almost.

When the ground shifted underneath his feet he nearly fell down. Before he could react stone spikes shot up. He would have been impaled had he not shifted his weight to the back. Daxter started to scream loudly in his ears, grabbing on tighter to him. More stone reacted beneath him, and he nearly jumped out of his skin when he could see liquid, white hot stone bubbling up. What the hell was going on?

When it stopped, he looked back up. Valentine seemed to be arguing about something with the King, her face clearly contorted in anger. The King remained calm, seemingly reasoning with her about something. She shook her head, pointing very decisively towards Jak. Pecker seemed to be ready to flee for his life at any given moment. Just what were they discussing up there?

|King's lounge|

"It is my right to make an end to him." Valentine told her King, pointing down in the Arena. She could It coiling around in her stomach, urging her on to the kill. For once she didn't feel like objecting much. "Why did you stop me?"

"You know the rules, Valentine." Damos reminded her, leaning his head on one hand as he observed her. "Only full warriors of Spargus may challenge one another. Until the boy earns his right to stay among us completely, you are not to lay a hand on him. No matter what harms he did to you in a past life. Everybody who comes here starts with a clean slate."

Valentine was fuming. She thought her brain was going to explode if this continued. "He betrayed me! He left me to be captured by Praxis, even though he knew I needed him to be there. By all our laws his life is mine to do with as I choose!"

"Only if he had done so while both of you were citizens of Spargus." Damos said, rising from his seat. Her slight heels did nothing to lessen the height difference between them as her King looked down upon her. "You are a Guardian, Valentine. If you wish to honor your title, you will stand down now and obey the laws of your King."

Disgusted and frustrated she looked down on the Arena. Jak was looking up at them, clearly wondering what was happening. He had no right to look so innocent, not when he knew what he had done! She forced herself to tear her gaze away from him, looking back to her King. "Even so, I cannot-"

"You will not lay a hand on him until he has proven himself as a citizen of Spargus." Damos made clear to her in a dangerously low tone. "After that you may challenge him to whatever you want, but until then he will be treated like any other recruit."

Valentine straightened her back. She felt dizzy, ready to pass out. "Permission to return to my other duties, my King." She stated, swallowing back her pride. If she could, she would have taken Jak out without a second thought. Even the first thought would have been later than her actions. When the permission was granted, she bowed stiffly before retreating. Meta followed curtly on her heels.

|Arena|

"Pecker, that is Valentine, right?" Jak asked the hybrid when he came flying down.

Pecker looked up to where the woman was arguing with his new employer before answering the question. "She answers to the name, but I wouldn't try to hug her just now if I were you. It would seem she has some grief against you." he told the hero. "Don't worry, you are safe as long as you're not a full Citizen here. If the King at least has a proper leash on her."

Jak didn't completely follow. He would have thought she would be happy to see him as well. Was she angry because he hadn't been there on time that day? But he had only been late because he wanted to give her… them an honest chance. He facepalmed himself.

"Right now we have bigger problems than Valentine tryin' ta kill ya." Daxter reminded him, giving a sweep to the entire Arena. "If I remember correctly, they'll be sending in some guys pretty soon to try it first. You might want to focus on them."

"However much these words may seem like a lie, Daxter is right. I saw some of the earlier fights yesterday, and those were not a pretty sight." Pecker looked a little bit green around the corners of his mouth. "Trust me when I tell you, you don't want to get on these people's bad side."

|Arena Entrance|

Valentine stood at the entrance, taking deep breaths. She had to stay calm, she had to stay completely level-headed. Precursor Steel, she reminded herself. She oughta stampede back there and – deep breaths… A sudden cough forced its way through her throat, catching her by surprise. She wiped her mouth with a handkerchief, ignoring the few red specks on the white cloth for now. She had bigger problems right now.

"You seem troubled once again." An airy voice behind her sounded. Valentine turned, seeing Seem standing there with what almost looked like a worried expression.

"My past has caught me." Valentine answered, trying to seem calm. "Right now, he is in the Arena. He'll win, there's no way he'll lose. And my King has forbidden me to settle the score."

Seem approached her, taking the handkerchief from her. She inspected the blood streaks on it with a disdained frown on her face. "I can see what the distress has caused you already. Have you been doing the exercises I gave you?" She meant the meditations that the monks themselves did every day.

"Those help, on a normal day." Valentine said, trying not to sound like she was ready to fall apart. "I, I can't handle this, Seem."

Despite their differences, the two women had actually come to a sort of friendship. Seem tried to cure Valentine, or at least keep her from going psycho and wrecking the town. In return Valentine did her best to track down Eco crystals and help out the monks with the few odd jobs that asked for a physical approach. And along that road, they had discovered that they didn't mind each others company all that much.

"Yes you can." Seem reminded her. "You have been through much more. You have lived past the betrayal, so you shouldn't be so influenced just because the physical cause of it is near you."   
Seem narrowed her eyes as she spoke, thinking of one thing that could be troublesome. This Jak was also infected by Dark Eco, but in a form unlike Valentine. And unlike Valentine, it looked like the man could still transform and tap freely into the power of the Precursors.  
In short, Valentine had repented. Jak had not. And Valentine had become a friend to Seem, which warranted a certain amount of loyalty. This made it quite easy for her to report to Count Veger that Jak had arrived.

"I will go and take a look at this Jak." Seem told her. "You still have other duties to perform, have you not?"

Valentine nodded, tugging her long ponytail in an attempt to stay calm. "I have some errands to run, thank the Precursors. I'm still seeing you the day after tomorrow?" She and Seem met regularly, because Seem wanted her to try different methods to perhaps increase the effectiveness of the medicine. Valentine failed to see why her running around town every night would increase the effectiveness of the medicine, but it beat the previous experiment where Seem had submerged her in ice water. The itching powder had not been that pleasant either.

Seem nodded and the two parted ways. Neither knew it, but Jak's coming would speed up events in a way nobody would have guessed.

|That Night|

Daxter found sleep unattainable that night. In the bunk next to him, Jak was softly snoring. The man's exhaustion was understandable, besides fighting in the Arena they had run around town trying to get a hold of Valentine. Whenever they asked someone if they had seen her, the answer was either no, or not recently. As if the woman was able to disappear at will or something.

He straightened himself up, thankful for his fur in the ice-cold desert night. He could already tell life here was going to be hard, if only because of the varying temperatures. He looked at his best friend, sleeping with his mouth slightly open. Jak had suffered back in Haven, all the time that they had looked on him with suspicion. The whispers behind his back. And finally the banishment. Perhaps what Jak had as a grudge against Have, Valentine had against Jak?

He walked out of the sleeping hall, deciding to go out for some air. All around him people were sleeping, a mixture of men and woman of all ages up from sixteen. Some of them hadn't been tested yet, others were only one Battle Amulet removed from full citizenship. Once they attained that they would be allowed to find a house in the city. Daxter was thankful he was counted as an animal in this city, and therefore not eligible for the Arena. From what they had done, seen and heard things wouldn't have looked good for him.

He made his way outside, sneaking past a sleepy Macie. The elderly woman seemed to regard everyone as her own child. The woman would probably have tucked him in and sung a song for him to help him get asleep. He would have slept better if Tess had been near. That woman was a gift from heaven, to love him in his current state.

He entered the square, walking towards the well in the middle of it. Perhaps taking a drink would entice him to sleep better. He was halfway there when he heard something. A rock being shifted by someone who had moved carelessly. He turned around, trying to see if someone was sneaking up on him. Not seeing anything he started to move towards the well again, this time backwards. Nobody was going to sneak up on him, not on this hero.

Something growled, again from behind him. Before he had turned another grown came from his left. This was not looking good. "Hello?" he called out. No answer came, but something bumped against wooden crates, rattling the stack.   
"Hello? Jak? This isn't funny!"   
Nothing.   
"Valentine, if this is your idea of revenge, I don't like it." He announced to the darkness.

More boxes rattled, and somewhere a jar shattered. He could hear a screeching noise. That sounded like one of those rodents he had chased with Jak earlier today for that Kleiver guy, Spargus very own Krew stand-in. And it also sounded further off than the other sounds. He swallowed loudly. That meant there were at least two, maybe even three or four of those things skulking about in the dark.

What was in the desert that could sneak around like this? He remembered Sig's stories about the Wasteland. Apart from the obvious Metal Heads the place was packed with poisonous plants, scorpions and spiders. If you didn't die from dehydration first before they got to you. The way the man had told it, it had seemed like he wanted nothing more than spend a vacation here.

The more he remembered the man's tales about everything that lurked in the Wasteland, the less he felt like he should be out here. He turned back from where he came, looking all around him. He tried to scream for help, but his voice was stuck in his throat. All he could produce was a shriek that was stuck in his throat, making him sound like a mosquito.

More growls sounded, and this time he could see gems lighting the darkness. Metal Heads! In Spargus? He decided he couldn't bear it anymore. He started to sprint towards the door, hoping to wake Jak and the other people sleeping. Just what the hell was wrong with this city?

Ten meters from the door a dark, great shadow swooped down from the sky. He pressed himself against the ground, vaguely hoping that it would swallow him. A gem sparkled and great teeth opened to close around him. His scream was muffled in the mouth of the beak.

And the first drops of rain started to fall down on Spargus.


	24. Not Welcome

|Spargus|

Valentine sat on the rocks near the bay, waiting. She had her eyes closed, listening to the sound of the waves lazily sloshing on the beach. Calm. She needed to be calm. She mentally went through the list of meditation exercises Seem had given her. She was the water, slowly crashing down as the stars-

Jak.

"Gah!" she exclaimed, eyes popping open. It had been like that the entire evening. Every time she even came close to finding something that felt like inner peace her blood started to boil again. How the hell was she supposed to not cough her lunges out if all she could think about was the fact that Jak was back?  
Attempt number two. She closed her eyes again, taking a deep breath. She could do this. She ignored the few drops of rain against her face. She was the wind, gently stroking the desert sand as-

The sound of something heavy falling to the ground interrupted her train of thought. Valentine supposed she might as well accept her fate for the time being. She clenched her eyes shut for a moment, frowning.  
"Meta, you were supposed to look after the kids. What are you doing here?"

She opened her eyes, indeed seeing the now mature Metal Head looking at her. In the night she was extremely hard to spot, or would have been if not for that shining gem on her forehead. Something else that stood out in the dark was the wildly spazzing Ottsel that had gotten his head caught in her mouth.

"Dear Precursors, spit him out right now Meta! You don't know where he's been." Valentine half-shouted, shocked at this particular sight. With a snort her friend complied, sending Daxter bouncing over the stones until he hit Valentines boots.

"THAT WAS THE MOST DISGUSTING EXPERIENCE I EVER HAD!" Daxter shouted after Meta, who decided to go back to her original assignment. When he heard someone laughing behind him he turned around, still disgusted.   
"I'm covered in Metal spit! Haven't these things ever heard of a toothbrush?" He looked up to a snickering Valentine, wasting no time in jumping up on her lap. "Valentine, babe! You're looking fine as always honey!"

"It's nice to see you too, Daxter. I missed you." Now that wasn't a lie in the least. She had missed the orange fluff ball. She picked him up, pressing him against her in a hug. The moment didn't last long before he broke it off, climbing on her shoulder.

"Listen hon', what's this with you trying to kill my buddy? I thought we all were friends and shizzle. Not to mention back in Haven you had a pretty huge cr-" He found his capacities for speech greatly diminished all of a sudden when Valentine pressed his lips together, stopping the rest of his sentence.

"Not talking about that. Not that it matters anymore. He betrayed me Daxter. He was supposed to be there. If things had gone slightly different, I wouldn't be sitting here anymore. I'd be locked up somewhere as subject Alpha." Valentine told him, eyes narrowing as she spoke.

When she released his lips Daxter walked over to her other shoulder, continuing from there. "Listen babe, it's not like that. Jak actually-"

Valentine raised her eyebrows. "Not another word. I'm not interested in excuses. No matter what he was doing, he should have been there. That's what partners do. I trusted him." The way she stressed her words made very clear that now she wouldn't be doing that anymore.   
"He comes near me again, I'll make sure he regrets it."

"Yeah well…" Daxter didn't know what he was supposed to say to that. Perhaps he ought to inform Jak later on that he should thank his lucky stars they hadn't found Valentine that day. The woman gave off the impression she'd have knocked all his teeth out to thank him for the trouble. Speaking about getting back to Jak…

"Say, about Meta, who so very generously covered me in her slobber." He started, rubbing over his face again. Thanks to being an Ottsel he also had a heightened sense of smell, which did not work great when his face was stuffed halfway a Metal throat. "What was her deal, bringing me back like I was some kind of lunch? Not that I'm not thrilled that you have her back, of course."

Valentine rubbed her nose, suppressing a sneeze. "Guess she was trying to keep an eye out for you. I gave my apprentices the job to clean the streets of kanga rats. Kleiver keeps complaining about them getting in the storage spaces. And their partners might have mistaken you for a rat. No offense, but you are quite small, and they're not that experienced yet."

"You're a teacher now?" Daxter asked in surprise, hopping down on the rocks to look up at her in a spot of surprise.

Valentine shrugged. "Teacher, mentor, foster parent. Sometimes I feel like I'm a nurse, the way they keep getting themselves hurt." She smiled, the kind of gentle smile she rarely made these days. "They're good kids. They'll grow up to be fine guardians. Ah, sounds like that's them."

Valentine stood up as Daxter immediately turned to see who was worthy enough to not get killed by Valentine. His mouth nearly dropped to the ground when three kids appeared, each flanked by a Metal Head that looked to be roughly the size Meta had been the first time he'd seen her. And he didn't like the way these hatchlings were sizing him up from a distance.

"Alright, what have we got? Koram?" she asked, turning to the only boy. The kid looked as scrawny as Jak had in his younger years, and by the looks of him he couldn't be any older than eight or nine. He held up a bundle of tails.

"Me and Daori got eleven of them." he announced with a grin. One of his front teeth was missing, which was very noticeable with that huge grin of his.

"Very good." His teacher praised him before turning to the girl in the middle. If someone had asked Daxter, she and the kid next to her were sister". Both had curly black hair and tanned skin, and looked like they were around twelve. Not that Daxter was an expert at guessing how old a kid was. "Kiara, how'd you do?"

"We only got seven this time." she said, sounding a bit sad. "But Zila found something that looks like a nest."

Valentine nodded. "How about you, Maylee?" she asked the last kid.

"We got eleven too this time. We would have gotten twelve, but Rant had to help me after I tripped." She showed a long, bloody cut across her leg, a result from falling down.

Valentine looked down at Daxter with a pained look. "See, this is why I feel like a nurse sometimes. Half my time I'm stitching these kids together again."  
She pointed down at Daxter. "Listen up. This is a friend of mine, so don't let your partners eat him. Trust me, they'll probably try."

The girls grinned at that remark, especially when Daori tried to make a beeline for Daxter. Koram was dragged behind his assigned partner, pleading not to disobey an order they had just gotten. Meta landed behind them, picking up a protesting Daxter once again.

"Don't get your slobber all over me, Meta!" he complained. 

Valentine hunched down, looking at her old friend. "Don't worry Daxter. She recognizes you. I just asked her to bring you back to your bed, before something else happens. Too many surprises aren't good for your health, you know." She suppressed a cough when she thought about a certain surprise.

Daxter looked confused, both at Valentine's sudden grimace and at her claim she had asked the Metal Head something when Daxter hadn't heard her say a word to the animal. "Anything you want me to tell Jak for ya?" he asked as he was being carried away.

Valentine's gaze grew cold as her apprentices gathered around her. Starlight drew intricate shadows on her face as she picked up to inspect one of the hatchlings, averting her eyes from him.  
"Tell him to watch his back."

|Morning|

"What did she mean by that?" Jak asked Daxter. They were walking around the city, having nothing to do for now. It felt nice, being able to walk around without people constantly whispering behind his back. Yet he had fallen into one surprise after the other when Daxter had told him what had happened that night.

"Probably that she's gonna try and stick a knife in your back." Daxter clarified, his eyes examining every good-looking woman that passed. He was taken, but that didn't mean he couldn't watch, right?

Jak groaned. He had to find Valentine and explain everything to her. Maybe then she'd forgive him and they could be friends again. And maybe, if he was lucky-

"Hey, check out that thing!" Daxter pointed excitedly to something that was stranded near the beach. It looked strange, as if something from a sci-fi movie. Jak wasn't a scientist, but he could tell by the color that this thing had something to do with Dark Eco. Apart from that, he also recognized one of the monks standing near the thing. It was the woman who had given him a death glare right after his first Arena fight.

They moved closer, the monks seemingly ignoring them. "Check out these threads. I didn't know rubber was back in." Daxter commented. Judging from the way the female monk's face contorted for a moment, Jak guessed one of these days Daxter was going to get punched. "What are ya working on, monk boy?" Daxter continued.

Seem took a deep breath. Valentine had told her about these two, but the orange one was even more annoying than she had described. Thankful that she had sent Valentine to her office to pick up some equipment she turned to the newcomers. "It is none of your concern, animal." She replied, trying to seem as off-putting as she could. Valentine had told her she could be very good at that, if she wanted to.

"Look, coloring book." Daxter started, jumping down from Jak's shoulder. "We've had a hard week. Being slobbered over by a Metal Head was the least of bad things happening. So don't push it."

Seem looked down at this strange creature, before turning to Jak. "The Arena shows all, Dark One." Well, the Arena and what she had heard from well-informed sources, but there needed to be some mystery. "Hate consumes your eyes."

"Great, thanks for the tip." Jak replied, clearly not in the mood for any soul readings.

"It will destroy you, just as these Precursors destroyed themselves." That was an educated guess she was making, but judging from the damage she had been able to record in Valentine, it was very likely. What she needed now was the equipment Valentine was getting, so she could get to work on prying it open. It had reacted slightly to Valentine's presence but not enough to actually get real information.

'Doesn't look like any Precursor crap we've seen.' Daxter said, thinking back to what they had encountered. The thing didn't even have the weird bulbous eyes he'd come to associate with Precursor artifacts.

'These are an abomination. One fell on the great volcano.' The fact that they were falling didn't mean good things were about to happen. She had sent out a team yesterday, and expected word from them as soon as possible. The more they found out about them, the better. She had told Damos as much as she could, without breaking the sacred scriptures. Spargus was preparing for the remaking of the world, as best as they could. 'Soon the world will be remade.'

Daxter let out a chuckle. 'I think someone's been frying in the sun a little too long.' 

Seem caught movement on the roof from the corner of her eyes. Valentine had returned, but seemingly had no intention of coming down to greet them. Instead she placed the heavy sack next to her, observing what was going on.

'You must leave this place.' Seem said, hoping that Jak and his orange friend would indeed leave. Valentine wouldn't be pleased having to wait on the roof for them to leave. 'Heroes always think they can save the world, when they can't even save those closest to them. And you couldn't possible understand the dark forces that are at work here.'

Now that clearly had the wrong effect. Instead of chasing the man away he moved closer to Seem. Not good. Seem glanced to the roof, seeing Valentine had gotten back up, flexing her hands. If Jak made a wrong move towards Seem, odds were great the female hero would fly at Jak's throat.

"Don't talk to me about dark powers." Jak threatened, pointing a finger at Seem's face. She backed away a bit. If she got Valentine in trouble, people could start asking questions. They might even find out that Seem didn't want Valentine dead anymore. And if Veger heard about that it could be… troublesome.

"I just wanted to know what this is." Jak continued, waving a hand towards the dead Precursor. In response a dark stream of energy moved between the two of them, opening up a panel. The two arguers looked taken aback for a moment, before Jak moved towards the screen.

Seem didn't want to let this opportunity to study the screen get away. She peered over the hero's shoulder, trying to read what it said. When Jak touched the screen, several menus opened up, flashing over the screen. Tiny creatures with tentacles could be seen moving around in the background, looking as if they were alive.

From a lower panel suddenly a Dark Eco crystal popped up. Seem stretched out her hand, too late. "Don't touch that." She ordered.

Jak ignored her, looking at the gem with an interested look.

Seem couldn't believe her eyes. When Valentine had touched a Dark Eco Crystal, the symptoms of Eco poisoning had increased so rapidly she only ever carried one of those stones with at least three layers of leather between them.

'$"Yeah, you're impressed now, aren't ya?" Daxter said, referring to Jak's skills. He clapped his hands, throwing Seem a smile. "Come on, give him his props."

Seem scowled. The situation was going from bad to worse. At least Valentine didn't look like she was ready to pounce at the moment. What was worrying was that she was now joined by all four Metal Heads under her care. Seem hoped she had her feelings enough in check to not give those animals any smart ideas.

Her gaze was drawn to the screen. "Strange…" she said out loud, thinking as she spoke.   
"It speaks an ancient dialect." So ancient that she only got about one in three sentences. Not good.   
"Something about reclaiming this unfinished world." The thing sped up, humming ferociously. "It's picking up on a powerful signal."

Too bad Valentine wasn't down here. The woman was constantly complaining how Spargus lacked even the most basic of technology. She would have had a field day trying to hack this thing. Instead Seem had to seem just hostile enough to get Jak to leave her alone. If there was one person she could not allow to become friendly with, it was Jak.

Suddenly the machine started to squirm on the ground, dark sparks emitting everywhere. The three of them started to back away, not wanting to get caught in whatever was going to happen next. When the thing exploded, Seem prepared herself for impact.

Nothing happened.

Instead of being blown to smithereens, strong, thin hands had grabbed her, yanking her away from the force. Opening her eyes, Seem could see a pair of concerned blue eyes checking her over. Valentine smiled softly, handing her the sack of equipment.

"I got you your stuff." She said, her back turned to Jak. "Though it looks like it's a bit late. See you later, Damos wanted me to check up on some of the new Nests."

"Valentine, wait!" Jak yelled, moving to grab the woman by the shoulder. He was thrown back by a swift kick to the stomach.

"Stay away from me, hero." Valentine told him. She still couldn't bear to look at him directly.

"What the…" Jak said, lying on the ground. Before he had scrambled up Valentine had already left. 

Seem tossed him a disdainful glance. If he was really planning on saving them all, he would have to up his game. Right now he was far too weak to even take on a weakened Valentine. "You can't even save her from the Eco, hero." Seem told him, her voice disdainful.

Daxter sensed the mood and tried to break away attention from the fact that Valentine had just knocked her former crush to the ground. "Hey, I'm the real hero here. You can call me Orange Lightning. Zazazing!"

"You may carry the colors of our creators, animal. But we have plans to save ourselves." They wouldn't need to rely on a hero who had disappointed his close friend. The monks at the very least would be able to see this new world. They and those who had chosen to help them. Though Damos was a more honorable man than Veger, neither of the two was selfless enough to help them on pure goodwill. But that didn't matter. Seem had long learned that one had to accept help from wherever it came. It was the reason she had become head of her order.

"Stay out of our business." She ordered the two men. "You and Orange Lightning are not welcome here."  
They weren't. At least not in her eyes. Everybody in this town had their own agenda, some greater than others. Seem wasn't proud of even half the things she had to do to ensure their survival, but sometimes sacrifices had to be made.

At the very least she could still choose her friends herself.


	25. Father

|Valentine|

Of course word of her kicking Jak in the chest spread around Spargus. Valentine was one of those high-profile people whose actions always got around, especially when they were so violent early in the morning. Of course most people didn't know about her being pissed at Jak. If it depended on her they would never find out, because she intended to steer clear from him as much as possible.

She wasn't allowed to kill him, and although Damas wouldn't be that opposed to her beating someone causing problems in a bloody pulp, she wasn't sure she would be able to stop it at that. Hell, she wouldn't even have gone down there with him near if Seem hadn't nearly gotten blown up. She'd warmed up to the woman. It was weird how much how people could warm up to someone, once that person stopped trying to get them killed.

Right now however she wished she'd kept herself out of it. Instead of being able to depart for Ma'als new nests she was standing in front of her King, looking like a child that was getting reprimanded.  
"I already said I won't do it again." She said, not sure what Damas wanted from her.

He looked at her, seemingly aggravated. He could have been carved from stone if it hadn't been for his index finger tapping on the side of the throne. When he did move, Valentine flinched for a second. When he put a hand on her shoulder, directing her to the throne, her heart started to pound in her throat. What the hell was he planning?

He sat her down, taking a few steps back, examining her. She sat up straight, ankles crossed and hands folded in her lap. She only ever sat in this thing as his General, and only when he was out of town. Sitting in it while he could see her felt like she was usurping his spot.  
"You need to use your anger, Valentine, instead of letting it use you." he finally said, shaking his head.

"My King?" she asked, not sure what he was talking about. Despite being seated here, she still felt like she wasn't in control at all.

"I heard about what you did to the new recruit. Even though you followed orders and didn't kill him, avoiding him is also a sign of weakness." Damos told her. His next words nearly gave her an apoplexy. "As the next ruler, you cannot allow your anger to rule you."

"E-e-excuse me." she stammered, holding on to the sides of the throne to make sure she didn't fall off. "My King, I am your Guardian. My family has always served yours, I can't just-"

"My son is still lost to me, and I am growing older. This throne will be yours, until the day my son is found again." He gave her a smile, that although encouraging still contained traces of his loss. "You've grown into a fine warrior in the time you've been here, Valentine. Even if you deny it, even if you claim to be unfit. People respect you. You even managed to make Seem change her mind, and we all know how stubborn she can be when's she's hung up on an idea."

"But that all still doesn't prove I can rule, my King! I'm just a hacker, someone who's been infected by Dark Eco. Even people who call me a heroine are mistaken, I'm just-"

"A brilliant negotiator." Damas cut her off once again. Damn, it looked like he had really been thinking this through. "Someone who is willing to sacrifice everything for a greater cause. And someone who can understand the pain of others." He smiled again, looking tired.   
"I wouldn't have picked you if I didn't think you couldn't handle it, Valentine."

He motioned for her to get up from the throne. She obeyed, only too happy to be rid of the thing. If she ever did have to occupy it permanently, the first thing she'd do was install some pillows. Kneeling in front of Damas, her mind was racing. She was never meant to rule. She was the shield that protected those that did the ruling.

Damas touched her shoulder. "This is the last time you will kneel for me. And the last time you address me as King." He took a deep breath. "I've come to consider you as a daughter, Valentine. The next time you address me, it would greatly please me if it were as 'Father'."

She could feel her mouth drop open. Was he being serious? The man she respected above anyone else… he only had to ask and she would lay down her life for him! And he was asking to call him father….

"Are… are you certain? she asked. She couldn't believe the words as he spoke them. She could only remember always looking up to him. He knelt down, looking at her from her own level. He gave her shoulder a squeeze, looking serious.

"Of course I am serious. You will be my heir, until the day Mar is found. If that doesn't happen, your children will be the ones who continue the rule. It is time the Guardians of Mar take over the throne. Your original purpose has always been making sure that the people are safe, through us. This is cutting out the middle man."  
He closed her mouth with his index finger. Valentine couldn't remember ever seeing Damos look so gentle. "What do you say… daughter?"

A single tear formed in her left eye. She couldn't imagine anything that could have made her happier at this moment. She nodded, swallowing back the lump in her throat. "I'll do whatever I can do to make you proud… father."

|Jak|

"She kicked me." Jak repeated, still not believing what had happened. His chest was sore from the impact, but the thing that hurt the most was that Valentine had flat out rejected to talk with him. "She just kicked me."

Daxter patted him on the shoulder as they were making their way to Kleiver. The man said he needed someone to help take care of some Metal Heads. For some reason he had specifically requested them. Macie had shook her head when she gave them the message, before offering Jak to give him some ointment for his chest when he came back. When had she said Valentine was 'really just a very sweet girl' he had nearly choked on his yakow milk. Sweet girls didn't kick people who wanted to make up in the chest!

"I heard you guys are looking for a bit of action." Kleiver said, polishing up his gun. He'd heard about the two hotheads going around, picking a fight with both Seem and Valentine. Somebody needed to cool these pups off a bit, and there was nothing like hunting Saurs to get people to get their system cleared.

"There's a bunch of Metal Heads moving through the desert not too far from here. That wouldn't be a problem, if they belonged to Ma'al. But since these guys belong to a different nest, they need to be dealt with." Kleiver continued, pissed at the extra work he had in determining whether Metals belonged to a friendly group or not.

"Who's Ma'al?" Jak asked, hearing the name for the first time.

Kleiver let out a deep sigh, annoyed at having to explain this. "Ma'al is the Metal King Valentine just had to make a deal with. If Damas didn't think the little miss farted sunshine, I wouldn't put up with this sort of stuff. But they did, and now it's all extra work. Look, I don't like Metal Heads, almost as much as I don't like you or her. You've still got some proving to do. If you do, I've been ordered to give you a sweet little toy for the efforts."

Daxter shook his head. After the race where Kleiver had made very clear he would have liked to eat Daxter if he had won – he was still peeved with Jak for that bet – he did not trust the overweight man one bit. "Why does this sound like you're leaving out the dangerous parts?"  
He turned to Jak. "I'm getting some nasty juju vibes here. When the Ottsel sense starts tingling, you'd better listen."

"We've fought Metals before. No big deal." Jak said, not seeing the problem at all. More importantly, he'd feel better if he could just shoot something.

Kleiver chuckled at the bravado. "Sounds like you've never seen a Wasteland Metal Head before."

"I don't like the sound of that." Daxter said, the first pitch of panic rising in his voice.

"You shouldn't." Kleiver made clear. "Go out and see for yourself. Just don't get killed just yet. There's more to see in the Wasteland than those little puppies."

|Later|

Well, that had been something different. Something in this place made them grow a lot bigger than usual. Jak poked the last one they had taken out with his foot, not trusting the thing. It had had the intelligence to feign it was dead, nearly gobbling him up when he had gotten closer.

"Hey, look, it's one of those crystal thingies the monks are so crazy about." Daxter said, pointing down on the ground. Jak picked it up, examining it. Whatever it was, it made the Eco in his body increase. Putting it in a bag they'd gotten along with them, he looked what else they could find.

"Report, what's happening?" a metallic voice sounded from somewhere near the ground. Startled the duo looked around, until they saw a communicator on the ground.  
"If you lost that cargo and you're still alive, I'll kill you myself. I want every Dark Eco Crystal that forsaken Wasteland has to offer. Time is short." The voice threatened. Whoever they were, they'd better have a big gun ready if they were planning on taking out something as big as a Saur.

Jak had heard enough. The vision was blurry enough to make the speaker unrecognizable, but he still saw enough to have an instinctive dislike. The head looked up at him as he was approaching, kicking up sand as he walked.

"Not you!" the voice said with an obvious horror sounding through.

Jak kicked down on the device, breaking it. "I really don't like the sound of your voice." He said, before picking it up. People in Spargus might find something useful if they looked at it.  
"You sure kicked sand in his face." Daxter reacted, never having been able to ignore an open goal.

Jak shook his head, looking down at the communicator. "That face looked familiar." He said out loud, looking to Daxter for confirmation. What was worse, it sounded like someone was controlling Metal Heads again. And it didn't sound like they were planning on organizing a pizza party either.

"Now you're just getting paranoid buddy. Don't worry, I doubt anybody other than Valentine is currently after your ass." He hopped over on Jak's other shoulder, giving the man a grin. "How's it feel to be hunted for a change?" he wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.

"I'd feel a lot better if she was after my ass for a different reason than killing me." Jak admitted, starting up the car. Even if she tried to kill him right now, Jak had to admit Valentine had really grown up. His face flushed when he thought about the leather outfit, before he shook his head. First he had to apologize. And then, when she could stand being near him again, maybe he could ask her an even more important question.

"Well, you know what they say. Love and hate are close together." Daxter said, sitting down in the passenger seat.

Jak sighed, patting the crystal they had just found. "Well, I could do with being a little less hated at the moment." He ought to get Valentine cornered, so she couldn't run away from him anymore. They needed to talk things out.

|Valentine|

Meta gave her a soft nudge in the back, towards the entrance of the main Nest. Valentine groaned, taking the package from her friend's back, walking towards the entrance. "Sure you're going to be alright baby-sitting the kids on your own?" she asked her friend.

Meta sent through a feeling of confidence. And an image of her yanking some tails if the hatchlings decided to act up. Valentine let out a laugh. "Fine, I'll let you know when I need you."

"Ma'al, get your scaly ass out here!" Valentine yelled inside the cave entrance. When she saw him approaching she quickly shut her eyes, throwing the package inside. "And put some clothes on first!"

She heard stumbling and hissing. Ma'al always managed to 'lose' the clothes she brought him, even though she refused to look at him if he was in this form if he wasn't wearing any. At least she didn't force pants on him. He didn't know how to work with those at all.  
Instead she always brought him a cream-colored robe, acknowledging his need for freedom, as he liked to call it. When he finally emerged he looked quite disgruntled with the fact she had once again brought him garments. "I fail to see your problem with me being unclothed." He made clear, his black hair messed up from his struggle. "In my natural form I am also naked, and it does not bother you then."

"This and that are different things." She told him, waving a finger in the air. It didn't help that he looked extremely attractive as someone of her own species. If she didn't know he was a Metal Head she might have been actually tempted to-  
She coughed, face flushed. No, she had said it once to Daxter, she did not date outside of her own species. No matter how attractive the other party presented themselves.

"I checked the nests like you asked me to." She told him. "They're placed splendidly, and there's a good reserve of Eco down there." Ma'al nodded, not bothering to get his hair in check. He understood very little of her concept of looking proper.

"I must thank you, King Valentine." He said with a smile. Valentine had stopped her attempts to at least change the title to Queen. That inevitably let to him trying to convince her to have eggs together. "How are my children doing?"

Valentine smiled, thinking about the hatchlings. "They're doing splendid. They're already getting good at hunting, and they get along with their partners, just like I intended."

"And yet you look troubled." Ma'al observed, sitting down on a patch of dark vegetation. Valentine followed his example, looking annoyed at being seen through like that. "Please do not give me that look, I have known you for quite some time now. You smell like the time I proposed you adopt my clothing habits."

Which meant he had proposed she walk around naked when they were together. She ignored that specific incident, looking in the distance. "There's been… a troublesome development." When he raised his eyebrows at her, she continued. "My previous partner… the one I allowed I be captured by my enemies, he is now in my nest."

The gem in Ma'als forehead glistened for a moment. "I can see why that would trouble you. Is there a reason you have not yet fed him to the hatchlings?" Ma'al always had a practical attitude when it came to this sort of thing. If it annoyed him, he killed it. Questions were asked later, if he ever considered questions. Not like he'd receive an answer from a corpse. Life as a Metal Head King could be pretty simple.

Valentine politely declined the offering of putrid flesh he made. Even after all these years Ma'al didn't believe she was not being coy about not wanting to eat his food, instead of the simple fact she like her meat cooked and relatively fresh. When she had told him that, he had acted as if she had offended his mother… father… however Metal Heads worked on that area. She hadn't worked up the courage yet to be allowed to examine that.

"My King has accepted me as his daughter. He says I cannot allow my anger to guide my actions. He would be severely disappointed if I were to kill Jak."

Ma'al nodded slowly, chewing the meat he had offered her just now. "I see. Of course relations within one's hive are important. Would it please you if I took care of this nuisance for you?"

Ma'al looked extremely comfortable in offering that to her. His golden eyes shone with a certain feral pleasure. "A man who is capable of giving you trouble must surely be an interesting Hunt."

She considered the offer for a second. If Ma'al were to do it, she wouldn't have been the one to make the transgression. But she could still imagine Damas and how disappointed he would be in her if she were to accept his offer.

"I'll have to deal with this myself." She admitted softly. The King shrugged, not offended that she had turned down his offer of help. Wanting to take care of one's own enemies was a sign of strength after all.  
"Any more news on the Precursor things that have been falling from the sky?" she asked him.

Ma'al directed his eyes towards the volcano for a moment. "One fell on the top of that fire mountain." He told her. That was the same Seem had told her. She had already sent out an expedition of monks to investigate. "It's more potent than the others that have fallen." He added.

His nest had made it a priority to take out any of the probes – that's what Valentine thought they were – before they could spread, but he only controlled so much territory. It seemed like the other Kings were doing the opposite of them, aiding the probes in whatever way they could.

"I'll make sure to tell the others." She promised him, getting up and dusting her clothes. "You said something about having a worthwhile Hunt for me?"

Ma'al grinned, eyes shining as he did the same as her. "One of the probes has been caught nearby. It can't get out, but it looks strong. This will be excellent for strengthening our bonds."


	26. Making Up

|Spargus|

"Seem…" Valentine muttered, lying on her stomach, occupying the monk's simple bed. She was being ignored on what felt like an even hotter day than normal. She wished the woman had a better stuffed mattress… she could understand pledges about humility, but she doubted anyone could sleep on this thing.

"Seeeeeem…" she repeated again, propping up on her arms so she could have a better look at what she was doing. Ignoring the invader, Seem looked as if she was busy preparing a new mixture for the potion Valentine had to drink every day. Whatever she was putting in there, it smelled absolutely foul.

"Sssss-" she started again, before the monk let out a deep sigh, turning to her friend.

"What is it, Valentine? I have never seen you so restless before," Seem was frowning, though that next to despair at being cooped up with non-believers seemed to be her most worn facial expression.

Valentine frowned as well. It wasn't her fault she could hardly walk around the city without running into Jak. The situation had forced her in becoming something of a recluse. She even took the kids out for training to the oasis for now, not wanting to get confronted by the hero. She didn't want Damos to get angry at her. "I'm bored,"   
She complained. "Damos has had nothing to do for me, except talk with the Council now that it's been decided I'm going to be his heir. It's like he doesn't want to put me in danger anymore."

The monk sighed, turning back to her work. "And that is a reasonable wish. You're his adopted daughter now, and the heir to the city. He cannot afford to lose you. Why don't you train the animals and the children?"

"Can't, they're in school," Valentine grumbled, turning on her back again. "And I can't afford another lecture from the council, I think they drained all of my health points," She tried to see if that kind of absurd statement would get a reaction out of Seem. When there was nothing, she continued talking. "I heard you lost a Crystal to Jak."

The sudden sound of a vial being dropped signaled Valentine had hit the mark. Seem coughed for a moment, gaining time to think about what she was going to say. "I thought that I could gain the one he had swiped from the probe," She admitted.

"I told you you shouldn't try to race with him," Valentine said in a tone that came close to a certain level of smugness. "He won the races back in Haven." She lifted her hand up to the ceiling, watching how the candlelight filtered between her fingers. Her long hair was loose this time, a sign that she wasn't expecting to have to get active at the moment.

"I shall take your advice into consideration next time," Seem said. That was her way of saying Valentine should stop being so smug about herself before she got kicked out. Valentine stuck out her tongue, much to the surprise of the stoic monk. After blinking her dark eyes, Seem actually chuckled.

"Honestly…" she said, almost too soft to be heard. "How I managed to think somebody like you was dangerous."

Valentine laughed, stretching out on the bed. Damn that rock managed to dig hard into her back. "I used to think you were a stuck-up bitch, so don't worry about it," She rolled back on her stomach, really not able to keep still. "I'm glad we became friends, Seem."

This sent a fierce blush to the otherwise so pale monk. "We-well… I suppose it could be said that that is true, in a sense."

"You're embarrassed!" Valentine cried out in glee. "I never thought I'd see the day. Remember that I hook you up with a better bed than this to commemorate, this thing is killing me. And give me something to do."

Seem threw her the flask, which now continued the enhanced medicine. At least, that was what Seem said it was. "First you can have a taste of this," She ordered. Valentine sent her a salute, before bringing the flask to her lips.

"EEEUUW, what the hell did you put in this?" the heroine cried out in disgust. "Metal piss or something? This is horrible," She looked at the flask in horror. "I want the old recipe back."

Seem tapped a sheet of paper in front of her. "I used a compound Kleiver found for me. I believe it's an alcoholic beverage they name 'The Ottsel's Brew' back in Haven. Perhaps it did not stand well to mix with the medicinal juice," She looked at her test subject, the corner of her mouth set in the way that meant she was vaguely displeased. "Is it really that horrible?"

"You want a taste? Cause be my guest," Valentine said, offering the flask. This was the first time she considered incinerating her taste buds. Anything to escape the taste of that. "Rather, make it up to me by giving me something to do."

"You are like one of those animals you're so proud of," Seem said, a hint of disapproval in her voice. "Always running around, never content to be still. Very well, remember the expedition of monks I sent out to the temple?" she waited for Valentine to nod. "They still have not send word of their whereabouts, and I am getting quite worried. I told Damas, but he has been so busy lately that I doubt he will think about sending someone up there right away."

Valentine scrambled off the bed, eager to get away. She was already alerting Meta that she would be needing her assistance. She needed to do something, and the volcano was so far away she'd never run into Jak there. "Monks, volcano, possible gruesome death. Got it!" she paused at the door, throwing Seem a wink. "Don't tell Damas, okay? I don't want him to put me on a curfew or something."

Seem let out an annoyed sigh, folding her legs over one another. "Dear Precursors…" she muttered. Even if she could choose her own friends, why did she end up with such a person as her best friend? Not that she'd admit it out loud. She'd be hounded for the rest of her days.

|Volcano|

"Would you take a look at this beauty, Meta?" Valentine said out loud towards her friend. The sound Meta made gave of the exact amount of doubt to indicate she wasn't accountable for this King's taste. For the Metal Head there were two things to be said about this place : it was too hot thanks to a river of lava, and too closed in because they were in a freaking mountain that spewed fire. It was times like these that made her question her loyalty.

"Pah, you don't know a beautiful place when you see one," Valentine retorted to the mental pictures, turning to see the giant mass of dark purple roots. "Though we do have one hell of a weed infestation here," she continued. So this is what happened when one of those probes was left unchecked.

She walked closer to the river of lava, checking over the side. Next to an extremely rickety ladder she could also see dark roots piercing all the way down. She whistled in between her teeth. Now that was some damage. Maybe she should see if they could somehow harness this kind of power.

Meta growled, low, letting the sound reverberate as far as she could. Valentine turned, seeing the Metal Head standing next to what looked like a kneeling monk, covered in ash. She hunched next to the obviously dead monk, a chill running down her spine despite the heat. She couldn't even see if they had been male or female.

"Poor you…" she whispered. She supposed she should say something to honor their memory, but all of Seems speeches had been so long and full of technical terms. Though she was good with technology, she'd never claim to be a star in something as abstract as religion. "Well…" she started scratching the back of her head. "I hope you had a good life?" she finally said, before slamming her face in the palm of her hand. That was just pathetic.

"Eh?" she said, looking at the object in the persons hands. She peered closer, praying the body wouldn't suddenly come back to life. "That doesn't look too healthy," She mumbled, examining the strange statuette. It looked like tiny barbs had driven themselves into the monks hands before they had died. She shuddered. "I am not touching that."

Getting back up she told Meta to keep a look-out for anything hostile. When she neared the strange vegetation the shudder on her back increased. Body parts were visible in several places, and she recognized the traditional monk clothing. Taking an educated guess she assumed that the probes probably devoured any nearby life in order to sprout this plant-like thing. Talk about sexy.

In the center she could see the remnants of the probe. Once it was opened, it was obvious it was a container for whatever it was that sent this plant in working. Kneeling down next to one of the roots she poked a finger next to it, piercing the earth. With a yelp she pulled it back out instantly, sucking on it to dull the pain. "Crap, that stings." She craned her neck, looking up. "When in doubt…" she started, pulling herself up on the first huge torn. "… just check it out from above."

|Jak|

"How come we always get to do this kind of weird job, huh?" Daxter asked him, looking around at the canyon-like structure. "Can't they for once send us on a mission to a hot tub with four sexy ladies wanting to rub lotion on us? Where would be the harm in that?"

Jak ignored the constant stream of words in his ear, pausing to look at the latest obstacle. How the monks had managed to come this far was a riddle to him. None of them had looked like a really athletic type, and yet they were supposed to have come this far? He shook his head in disbelief. He wouldn't have been crazy enough to come here if Damas hadn't asked him to do it.

"A river made of lava… it's kind of like a hot tub." He tried, looking at Daxter as if the Ottsel would be able to appreciate his joke. Before his friend could reply, a Metal Head shot from the air, taking Daxter in its mouth.

"Daxter!" Jak shouted. When he saw the Metal Head landing on the ridge above him he didn't think twice about saving his friend. He jumped over some of the cooler patches in the hot ground, making his way to the rickety ladder. He hissed when his palms touched the wood, surprised this ladder hadn't burst into a flames a long time ago in this environment.

He hoped he wasn't too late. Daxter was still screaming above him, so that was a good sign. When he got closer he could actually make out the words. "- And I don't appreciate being covered in slobber every single time you see me! Isn't there another way for you to show me you like me?"

Jak let out a relieved sigh. It was only Meta. When he surfaced he was just in time to see Daxter getting his face licked by the Metal Head. "Meta, it's you!" he said, not worried about Daxter being in her company. When the Metal Head saw him she snorted, dropping Daxter to the ground. Walking away she lifted her tail in the air, giving Jak a good view of her behind.

"Well, it's nice to see you too." He mumbled. He looked around on the clearing. If Meta was here, there was a pretty good chance Valentine would be too. Not seeing anything immediately he turned his attention on Daxter, standing next to a rather eerie corpse.

"Looks like it didn't agree with him." Daxter joked, pointing at the fellow with a thumb. Like Jak he had seen too many horrible things to get impressed with a corpse. He held out a hand to the statuette, without bothering looking closer to it.

"Don't touch that Daxter," Jak warned, holding out his hands to stop the Ottsel. "Who knows what more Dark Eco would do to you?"

"Look at me Jak!" Daxter exclaimed, his voice carrying to the farthest reaches of the clearing. The duo didn't notice Valentine looking down on them with a grim face. "I'm short, hairy and I itch in odd places. Not mentioning the tail. I couldn't do worse," Daxter said, with a face that suggested he really believed what he said. "So just relax, I know what I'm doing."

Daxter stepped closer to the corpse, looking at the thing. "This is going to be gross, I just know it. Cold, clammy and dead hands. I can't look," He said, before placing a paw at the monks side, pulling as hard as he could. After a few seconds the thing broke loose, launching towards a helpless Daxter.

Moving in fast, Jak couldn't believe what happened when he held the object. Ripples pulled past his field of vision, and as he looked down he couldn't see his own feet. When something sharp pushed inside his hand he let go with a yell.

"What the hell was that!" Daxter cried out, before he froze at the sound of a familiar voice coming from behind Jak.

"It appears that's what prevented the monk from being gobbled up by this plant," Jak turned around to see Valentine sliding down a thick, dark vine. Her piercing blue eyes, a shade darker than his own, focused on him. She didn't look happy to see him. "I only saw a little, but I'd guess it make the Dark Eco in the recipients body speed up, rendering them invisible," She gave the corpse a sideways look. "Though it seems that it can kill you when the Eco runs out."

"Valentine, I need to talk to you," Jak wasted no time in approaching her. If he did notice the grim way she looked at him, he paid it no heed. "We need to talk to each other."

He barely managed to dodge a fist aimed at his nose, stumbling back to narrowly avoid a leg thrown up to kick him in the face. So far negotiations had commenced, though they didn't look too promising.  
"Valentine, don't go punching on my boy!" Daxter yelled.

"Stay out of this Daxter," Valentine growled, sizing Jak up from a distance. Jak felt as if he was being judged like a calf for slaughter. When Meta approached him from behind, Valentine again intervened. "You too, Meta. This is my fight."

She lunged for him again. Jak didn't dare to throw a punch back, afraid he might actually harm her. Valentine had no reason to hold back like that. He felt a nail rake past his cheek, drawing blood. Valentine looked down at her finger for a moment, before she resumed the attack.

"Valentine… just listen to me!" he pleaded, dropping to the ground when she tried to jump him. After a head roll she was right back after him. "Or talk. Tell me-" he dodged another kick, this time aimed at his stomach. "Tell me why you're so angry!"

"You abandoned me, you jerk!" she shouted at him. When he tried to grapple her she pulled back, arching her back. Looked like she had developed a real fondness for trying to kick people in the face. "You were supposed to be there!"

Jak found a new appreciation for his haircut. If his hair had been longer she would have been able to grab him. Instead he grabbed her long ponytail, pushing her close against him. With her back against his chest there was little she could do.

"I didn't abandon you," he grunted with exertion from keeping her still. "I was intending to be there on time," With a snarl she brought her heel down on his foot, forcing him to release her. In the same move she dropped to one knee, swinging the other leg to bring him off-balance.

Jak hit the ground with a hard thud, suddenly jumped by Valentine. She held a knife at his throat – where had she pulled that from? – and looked down on him with hard eyes. "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't just end you right here."

Her mistake was that she hadn't pinned his arms down. He brought his opposing arm to the hand that held the knife, stopping her from cutting him. Her eyes grew wider when she noticed what he was planning. She spread her arms in an attempt to stop him, but he was already forcing her to the side. With him on top he didn't waste time pinning her hands down.

She screamed at him, kicking her feet in vain. The stream of profanities she spouted had him wondering exactly who had taught her all of those. He decided to shut her up at 'pigfaced douchewaffle nugget'.  
"For fucks sake, will you just listen to me for once?" he snapped at her.

She shut up, raising her chin as if defying everything he had to say. Jak let out a deep huff, panting from the fight. He should count himself as lucky that she couldn't transform anymore. After she muttered a last profanity – dipstick – she shut up, lips pursed.

"Look, I meant to be there on time for you. I meant to be there for you, and only for you. That's why I stopped by Keira first, to tell her it was over," Valentine's eyes grew bigger, but she still had an angry set around her mouth. "I'd been a real shitty friend back then for not seeing how much it hurt you. I should have at least noticed. So yeah, it is my fault you were caught. But don't you dare think for a minute I wanted that to happen! I wanted to be with you!"

She lay underneath him, breathing for a while. He almost didn't dare let go of her hands, until he saw a tear gathering in the corner of her eye. It looked like she was fighting the urge to cry. "Valentine?" he asked, hoping it wouldn't unleash another storm of profanity.

"Idiot," She finally managed to bring out. The tear slid out, soon followed by another. Pretty soon it seemed like there was no stopping the flood. He let go of her, but before he managed to slide away from her completely she started to smack his shoulders. It hurt, but it was better than the beating she had been planning on giving him before that.

"Bleeding idiot," She cried out. Tentatively he reached out his arms, wrapping them around her. She resisted, instead still hitting him on the arms. "Why'd you have to do something like that?" she cried as he placed her head on his shoulder, hoping she would stop unleashing that barrage of hits on him.

Finally she did stop, shocking him when she threw her arms around him, using her full weight. "I was so scared!" she finally sobbed against him. "When they caught me, I was so scared. I've never stopped being scared. I thought you wanted me dead, that you hated me. I thought you wanted them to catch me." Her tears soaked his shirt, but at the moment he couldn't care about that. He stroked her hair, trying to register she had stopped trying to rip him to pieces.

"You were my friend…" she continued, nails gripping in his shoulders. "… and I thought you betrayed me. I trusted you, and you weren't there," Each word she spoke was a dagger in his heart, but he knew he deserved it. "And I couldn't even let myself miss you because of it!"

Jak brought himself to an easier sitting position, not letting go of her. As she cried he just kept stroking her hair. He hoped she wasn't aware of the tears streaming down his own cheeks.


	27. The Temple

|Volcano|

When her sobbing subsided, Valentine realized what was happening. She couldn't believe what she was doing! Crying like that while being in Jak's arms? The part of her that had never gotten over her crush was jubilant, while the rest of her mind was positive she had just gone stark raving mad. Finally she cleared her throat. "Jak?" Dear Precursors, even her voice was all weird now. "You can let go off me now."

"What? Oh, uh, yeah," Jak said, releasing her as if she had stung him. She scooted away from him a little bit, still sitting on her knees. He sat down, seemingly relaxed although he looked like he had gotten a bit emotional as well earlier. "I'm uh… glad we're friends again," He offered.

She found herself praying that this awkward atmosphere would somehow pass, rubbing her eyes as an excuse not to have to look at him directly. Opposite of her Jak had suddenly found a renewed appreciation for the top of the mountain, seeing as how he was staring at it so intently. Was it her or was this volcano heating up? She waved a hand at herself, trying to cool down a little bit.

"Now that your cryfest is over and you're buddies again-" Daxter said, snapping the duo out of their awkward stage. "- how about we get a move on and go away from the lava and creepy plant thing?"

Both she and Jak shot to their feet, relieved they had some kind of purpose again. Valentine ran a hand past her hair, certain she looked like a mess. She also felt like a huge idiot, both for having been mad at Jak for all that time and for crying like that. She was one of the brightest minds in all of Spargus, and here she was going all crazy over the fact that a guy had held her.  
"There's a path to a teleporter over there," she said after scraping her throat. "Normally Meta would just fly me out of here, but I guess it's more convenient now if we move as a group, right?"  
Jak scraped his throat as well, trying to sound as if he hadn't been crying at all. And if he had, they had been manly tears. "Yeah, that sounds like a great plan," He hoped he wasn't blushing. He scratched his goatee for a moment, hoping that he'd be able to joke around with her pretty soon.

He was nearly pushed over by Meta who suddenly seemed to decide that now was a great time to renew her friendship with him as well. Curling around his legs the animal managed to trip the hero once again, tossing him to the ground, where she began to groom him full affection.

"Oh dear…" Valentine said, putting a hand in front of her mouth to hide a smirk. Seems like her connection with Meta had more consequences than she could have thought. "Meta, get off him, you're embarrassing him," She said, shooing the Metal Head. Her friend consented, after giving one more lick.  
"I'm sorry," She apologized. "I think she missed you too."

Helping Jak to his feet she pointed to the side. "Let's get going, okay?"

"What have you been up to lately?" Jak asked her as they lowered themselves to the road next to the platform with the vines. Valentine got into a violent cough, causing her to double over for a moment. "Valentine, you're bleeding!" He noted with a hint of panic in his voice.

She wiped the blood of with a handkerchief she held ready at all times now, before taking another drink from the flask at her hip. "Guess I got a little too excited," She tried to downplay it, suppressing another cough. "I'm supposed to keep calm, otherwise it happens a little too often,"   
She took another mouthful, cringing at the taste. She was definitely going to demand the old recipe back, she thought as she offered Jak the handkerchief. "You have some blood too," She said, pointing just beneath his eye where she had scratched him.

"Thanks," He mumbled, dabbing at the scratch. "Look, I know I'm no doctor, but coughing up blood probably isn't healthy."

Valentine burst out into a laugh. "Probably not," She took back her handkerchief, pausing for a moment to take a look at the scratch on his cheek. She stroked past it with her index finger, feeling a bit sorry for having done it. Then again, she'd been pissed for nearly three years. He should be happy she hadn't done worse. "What's done is done," She said, turning back around. They had reached the portal, much to Meta's dismay.

"Hey, looks like she's not too happy about jumping in here," Daxter said, also seeing how Meta didn't look enthusiastic at all having to use the portal.

As the Metal Head weaved her way around Valentine's legs she made her intentions clear to Valentine, who did her best not to get knocked to the ground as Jak had earlier. "Are you sure?" she asked out loud, clearly doubting what Meta was proposing was a good idea.

This caused Meta to weave her way around Jak's legs again, emitting a purring sound. "Well, I guess you have a point there. Just be sure to stay away from Damas for the time being. If he finds out you helped me get out of Spargus he'll try to tan your hide."

With something that sounded a lot like laughter Meta nodded, spreading her wings. After a last loving purr for Valentine she took off, preferring to fly instead of using the portal. Valentine turned around to the two guys who seemed to be rather surprised. "She's never been a fan of portals. Can't be helped, I guess. And she seems to think I'll be safe enough with the two of you."

Daxter pumped up his muscles, trying to seem as macho as possible. "She's got that right. This heroic duo can rescue any damsel in distress."

Jak grinned, before making a mock bow towards the portal, aiming his hands at it. "Well, ladies first," He said, giving Valentine a sly smile.

She held out her hands, almost in a panic. "Ah, no, I really shouldn't. I'm not really-"

"I can hardly let you go last." Jak protested, thinking there might a Metal Head coming after them if they didn't hurry things up. Not that Valentine couldn't take care of herself, but he thought Meta might decide to take a chunk out of his hide after all if he let anything happen. "Just go. It'll be fine."

"Fine," Valentine said, defeated. "But I'm telling you it's not a good idea."

|Precursor Temple|

That sickening feeling of having every atom pulled at hyperspeed to a new location was something she would never get used to. As usual she lacked any grace coming out of the thing, landing on her stomach in the dust. "Pfeh," She spat out some dust, scrambling up. She needed to get out of the way before-

Jak hit her in the back, letting out an oomph of surprise as his face collided with her back. The impact threw her forward on her stomach, causing her to emit some angry swears. This was the exact reason she never want to go through a portal first. The thing made her lose every ounce of bodily control she had. Daxter crawled over Jak's shoulders, dropping in front of her.

"Well, at least you haven't changed that much. Remember the time you did a face plant at one of the Eco mines?" He asked her with a grin on his face.

"Shut up, Daxter," She muttered. When she tried to get up, she noticed Jak was still laying on her back, slightly dazed from his impact with her back. "Get off me, Jak," She mumbled. It seemed like things were just getting more weird by the minute.

With a dazed groan he got up. "Next time I'll go first."

Once they were back up on their feet she started to walk outside, only to be stopped by his voice. "Valentine, don't you want to check out this place first?" He asked her, pointing towards a small hall that was guarded by one of the mechanical eyes she had never been able to get past.

She scrunched her nose, not seeing how he was planning on getting past there. Then he pointed towards the little statuette that was hidden in a small crevice. "You're going to touch that thing to get past the eye?"

"If it can't see me, it won't be able to raise any defenses, right?" he asked with a grin. "C'mon, it'll be just like old times. A little bit of adventure never hurt anyone."

The look she gave him clearly begged to differ. Jak ignored her, slipping past the eye before she could say anything. He reached out a hand, asking her to come and join him. With a sigh she ran a hand across the statuette, only for her it didn't do anything. "What the?" she grabbed the figurine, shaking it up and down. "Why am I being excluded? Turn me invisible too!"

Oh, that was right. She couldn't transform anymore either, only able to control Eco outside of her own body. She waved her hand to the side, trying to get rid of an unpleasant sensation that had built up in there.

"GAAH!" somebody screamed. 

Valentine looked at Jak, who shrugged. The only one she couldn't see was Daxter. "Daxter, where are you?"  
She could feel paws climbing over her, stopping to pinch her bottom. She let out a yelp, and suddenly Daxter came back into view on her shoulder. "How did that happen?" she asked, confused.

"How should I know? You pointed at me and then all of a sudden I couldn't see my own handsome mug anymore." He replied, running his hands over his face to check if everything was still in place.

"Jak… maybe there's a switch or something on the other side to turn that eye off? I don't want to be turned into a shish kebob, if you catch my drift." She said, eying the holes in the floor. "No, try going a bit more to the left… yeah, there. If you can break through the wall or something, there should be-"

A cloud of dust billowed over the scene. When it cleared the eye was gone, meaning it was safe to cross over. Valentine let out a sigh. "If I hadn't messed around with an antidote at that time, my body wouldn't be in this condition," She looked at her hands, walking to where Jak was standing. "Guess I ended up creating only more trouble, right?"

She thought her heart skipped a beat when Jak took her hands into his. Looking up in those clear blue eyes of his she thought he was looking a bit embarrassed as well. "No. You're just fine the way you are now. Like this… well… we're a pretty good team."

"Jak…"

"Okay lovebirds, how about we explore the creepy temple first and then you go declaring your love for each other?" Daxter suggested, jumping back to Jak. Those words immediately caused both of them to let go, not looking at each other.

Jak cleared his throat, reaching for his mod gun. "I'll go first. You never know what's hiding in a temple like this."

She nodded, following him towards the stairs that were leading down. Something weird made a noise in front of them, as if tiny legs were clicking in the direction they were headed. She felt a shiver run down her spine as she thought about what that could be. That was until something lowered in front of her face, something black and red with eight eyes.

She punched it, sending it into a wall where it crashed with a sickening split. "SPIDERS!" she shrieked, grabbing Jak by an arm, dragging him with her. She hated spiders, with their creepy legs and eight eyes. Just what on this planet needed eight eyes anyway?

"I can't keep up with you running like this," Jak complained, trying to match his steps with her as they were going downwards. Spiders were crushed beneath their feet even as he tried to blast as many of them as he could away.

"I say we run faster, I hate these critters," Daxter added, holding on to Jak's hair. They nearly lost their footing, but with a final jump they reached the end of the stairs. Panting they stood beneath the stairs, looking to where they had come from. It didn't look like they would be followed.

"I'm _not_ going back that way," Valentine announced, sending the stairs a poisonous glance. "I don't care what's waiting the other way, we are not going back there," she started to pat herself down, making sure there weren't any spiders on her, all the while grumbling something about eight-legged freaks. When she heard Jak chuckle she gave him a glare as well, shutting him up immediately.

They continued following the corridor, where there were a bunch of robots waiting in a circle around a button. There were two closed doors, one which had the seal of Mar pictured on it. Suddenly struck by memories she stroked a hand past it. She wondered where Mar was now. Was he scared and alone? Was he with people who cared for him? There had never been a body, so she could still allow herself to entertain these illusions.

"Valentine, are you okay?" Jak asked her. While she had been daydreaming he already had unlocked the other door. Things like this were pretty normal for him after all. She followed one of the lines with a nail, thinking about the little kid who had told her he wanted to marry her when he grew up.

"I was just thinking about little Mar," she admitted. "I want to go back to Haven, and find him, when I have the chance. He must miss me," She didn't catch Jak's look behind her, one that spoke of surprise and guilt. She did however notice when he and Daxter started to argue about something silently. "Is something wrong?" she asked them.

"It's nothing," Jak said, a hand wrapped around Daxter's mouth. "I'm sure he misses you as well. Who wouldn't? Oh, look, more spiders!" he sounded nervous, as if he knew something she didn't. She threw him a suspicious look when he started to blast the spiders away, following after him.

Next was a room filled with eyes, preventing them from following the normal route. Seemed like the only way to get across was via moving poles. And if the invisibility stopped working before they got to the other side : a one way ticket down. Jak didn't seem to be looking forward to this challenge until Valentine grinned at him. She wiggled a hand in the air, looking at him. "Don't worry. I'll keep you safe until you're on the other side."

Getting across turned out to be more a work of stamina than anything else with their skills combined. It had been a while since she had had a work-out like this. By the time they passed the third eye she had forgotten all about what she had wanted to ask him. After another row of spiders – she was actually starting to get used to them now – they reached another room.

Valentine looked around the room, which was covering in murals. It seemed like they were portraying some sort of story. As if the monks were kneeling down in front of a statue to receive something. She didn't know what, but it was as if a statue was showering them with a white light. She didn't realize she had been speaking out loud until Daxter pointed out something. "You mean that weird, oggly thing in that room?"

She turned around, surprised she had been able to miss that thing. A huge Precursor statue, with half-lidded eyes that emitted a strange white light. "That's the thing from the murals," She said. Jak motioned for her to stay close. No matter on how many walls that thing appeared, it didn't mean he had to trust it. They walked closer, until Valentine saw something she hadn't been expecting.

She pulled Jak behind a wall, putting a hand on his mouth. When he stared at her with his eyes as far open as he could get them, she nodded towards the two people she had seen. Releasing him, they both peered around the corner, keeping a steady hand on Daxter as they did so.

"I want no excuses!" the man with the prominent nose shouted at Seem. The monk backed away, her hands folded in front of her. "You told me this could be done, now make it so!"

Valentine let out a low growl when she saw someone yelling at Seem like that, causing Jak to put a hand on her shoulder, pulling her closer to him. He placed a finger against his lips, signaling her to keep quiet.

"But we have so little time." Seem told the man. "The Day Star approaches, you know what it means." She was talking to his back now, as he had turned to walk away from her.

With an annoyed sigh the man turned back to the monk. "Unfortunate, yes. We will deal with that as soon as I have full access to the Catacombs. Just continue your work, and I'll deal with those idiots in Haven. I promise, you will meet your makers."

They watched as the pair of them walked away, Valentine looking at the balcony they had been standing with a questioning look on her face. "Who the hell was that guy? And what does he need in the Catacombs?"

Jak walked towards her, seemingly peeved he had seen the man here. "That was Count Veger, he's one of the people who got me kicked out of Haven. I thought Seem was a friend of yours?"

Valentine nodded, taking another step back. "That's what I thought too… so what is she doing with someone like the Count then?" The next step back caused a light to spread around her and Jak. The pair looked at each other, with one obvious question on their face.

What was happening here?


	28. Cured

|Temple|

Before either of them could make the decision to jump away from the circle of light the statue decided to act up. The eyes opened up to slits, revealing more white light to shine down on them.

"I'm officially creeped out now," Valentine said, holding herself ready in case the statue decided to attack. Next to her Jak was doing the same.

"Greetings, great warriors," The statue spoke, voice rumbling as if gears had to churn against their will to bring forth the voice. "Your return brings us great hope. This planet's future is at a critical juncture. The Dark Ones have found your world again and fate hangs in the balance where past and future collide."

Valentine scrunched her face, trying to make sense of the last part of the message. How would past and future collide? Unless it was talking about the present, meaning it was happening now. She couldn't guess anything else, unless he was talking about Jak being from the past.

"Do you have any idea what he just said?" Daxter asked them, sounding as confused as Valentine was feeling. "Speak-a-da-normal language, okay?" he said to the statue, moving his fingers as if he were mimicking Seem.

"You will need all the power you can muster to survive this terrible test, great ones," The voice continued.

Valentine folded her arms over one another, relaxing her stance. So far this sounded like some kind of taped message, playing for whoever would be entering the room. And what the hell did that implicate? If the Dark Ones were related to the Day Star then this message could be meant for them.

"Don't worry, I can handle it," Daxter boasted, pointing towards himself.

"I was talking to the tall one and the woman, shorty," The voice said, a certain measure of pleasure in its voice at being able to deal out that jab. There went Valentine's theory about this thing being a recorded message.

Unless someone had somehow prophesied an answer like that would be needed and… she rubbed her temples, feeling a headache coming on. Why was thinking about this kind of thing never any easier?

The statue spoke again, causing her to look up. "Look into the light and receive new power."

Before she could realize what was happening, the light poured inside her. Her feet lifted off the ground as she suddenly felt very warm, as if being wrapped in hot air. Something was entering her body, almost feeling similar to an earlier experience, yet infinitely more pleasant. After what seemed like an eternity her feet touched the ground, though she didn't realize at the first moment.

She stumbled to the side, against Jak. This feeling… this kind of well being… "Jak… tell me I'm not dreaming this." She managed to bring out, a hand to her chest.

He leaned back against her, keeping the both of them on their feet. He held a hand against his chest as well, looking as unbelieving as she did. "Not unless we're dreaming the same thing."

"Guys, what's going on? Tell me!" Daxter yelled, not happy at being left out of whatever was causing his two friends to grin like maniacs.

"The Dark Eco… it feels far away now," Jak said, pinching himself. "Daxter, we're feeling better."

Valentine put her hands to her cheeks. More than feeling better, she couldn't hear It whispering inside her anymore. Whatever the statue had done to them had even made the voice go away. She jumped into the air with a whoop. "This is amazing!" When she looked at Jak she let out a gasp. "Your cut is gone!"

He touched his cheek, running a finger where her nail had opened his skin. When his eyes grew bigger she knew he understood what had just happened. Valentine quickly peered underneath the soft leather tank top she was wearing. Meta had accidentally scratched her in her sleep, leaving four thin stripes across her stomach. "Hey, I'm not healed," She said, pouting. Of course her difference with Dark Eco would also be transferred to this… Light Eco. That had to be what it was.

Jak leaned closer to her, running his warm thumb across her stomach. A shiver went across her spine at the contact. "I wonder what that means," Jak said, looking up into her eyes. She swallowed, not able to look away.

"Probably means I don't get a danger free pass like you just did," She answered. Was she really that breathless? 'Pull it together woman, he just passed a hand across your stomach for crying out loud!' she chastised herself mentally. She let her top fall down again when he removed his hand, hoping she wasn't as red as she felt.

"Well, let's get out of here," Jak said, pointing at a portal she hadn't noticed before. "I'm pretty sure this one leads back to the entrance and- what's with that face you're making?" he sounded confused.

"How can you talk about leaving at a moment like this?" Valentine asked, pointing towards the statue. The lights on the inside had gone out, but that didn't have to mean she couldn't communicate with it anymore. "One of the Precursor statues just interacted with us, and you're going to waltz out of here? We owe it to the world, to science, to try and fish out what it wants besides us saving the world."

Jak scratched the back of his head at that, exchanging a glance with Daxter. "I don't think it works like that," He said hesitatingly, watching as she jumped up and down in front of it, trying to get it to talk again. "Maybe you should leave it alone before it- … does that."

A blast of air had come from the statues snout, sending Valentine flying backwards. Somehow ending up with her feet above her head she gave the two guys a glare. "Not a word. Not a single word," She managed to disentangle herself, looking at the ceiling with a sigh. "The things I do for science," She muttered at it, before she got back to her feet.

"I'll go first this time," Jak offered, pointing towards the portal. "Try to jump through it like I do, that should work better," Valentine rolled her eyes at this, before promising she would.

|Temple Entrance|

"Ehm, Jak," Daxter started, looking at how his friend was positioned right in front of the portal, standing sideways with his hands loosely in front of him. "Not that I'm doubting whatever brilliant plan you just hatched, but right now you're in Valentine's direct trajectory. If you don't want to get hit by her again, maybe you should come stand over here," Daxter himself had neatly removed him from anything that could be considered the vicinity of the portal. A wise move for anyone who had had the pleasure of dealing with Valentine and portals in the same occasion.

"Don't worry Daxter, I know what I'm doing," Jak replied. In a way, he knew exactly what he was doing. Valentine would probably be throwing a few more longing looks at the Precursor statue before she decided to follow after them, and only then would she consider following behind them. He'd seen her come out of plenty of portals, enough to guess where she would be popping out.

And true enough, he hardly had to move his position to catch a screaming Valentine being thrown out. He stumbled from the impact but managed not to drop her on the ground. When she noticed she wasn't planted with her ass on the ground she threw her arms around his neck, looking down.

"Huh? What happened? Where's my new bruise?" she sounded genuinely confused.

Jak chuckled, throwing Daxter a sly wink at that. "I know you well enough, even if I haven't seen you in a long time. Some things never change about you, and this is one of them," he flinched at the mean glare she gave him. "Hey, at least you didn't do another face plant. I think I deserve some credit for that."

He could see how she was resisting the urge to stick out her tongue at him. Thank the Precursors for that fight, it had allowed them to slip back into the regular routine. And joking around was easier without the Dark Eco making every breath a living hell. He felt giddy at the thought. "Put me down," She demanded. He ignored her pleas, taking big strides towards the Dune Hopper.

Valentine nearly leaped out of his arms when she saw the car. "Hell no! I'm waiting here for Meta."

He set her down, feeling as if someone had managed to slip some soap onto her, making her so slippery. "What's your problem?" he asked. The buggy was fine. Furthermore, the jump system was totally sweet.

"This thing does not have any seat belts in it," Valentine said, pointing out the major flaw. "It could just as well be a driving coffin for all I care. I'm a lot safer with Meta."

"Let me guess, you still haven't learned how to drive a car?" he asked her, giving Daxter a fist bump when she flinched, letting him know he'd hit the mark. "You can't keep depending on Meta, you know? And I don't know how long it will take her to get here, but you only have a few more hours until it'll be dark. Won't Damas be upset about his new heir being out in the Wasteland after dark?" Maybe he should give her some driving lessons, just in case.

Valentine's eyes grew bigger. She shot in the buggy, telling him to hurry up. When he asked her what was wrong, she let her head fall back, letting out a moan of despair. "I totally forgot about Damas, I'm not supposed to even be in the Wasteland, I snuck out." She screamed when Jak made the first jump, clasping the side of the Hopper to avoid being thrown out.

"What do you mean, you snuck out? Does he think you need a nanny or something?" Jak asked her, grateful he had thought about pulling up the red scarf to protect his face from the flying sand. It also ensure Valentine not seeing his smirk every time she screamed. "And what's with the fear of heights?"

"I'm not scared of heights, it's this dropping down so fast I hate!" she replied, eyes squeezed shut. "Meta is so much more comfortable. And Damas does seem to think I need a nanny. He's scared something will happen to me, now that he adopted me," She let out a sigh of relief when they reached the normal part of the desert where it wasn't necessary to jump all the time.

Daxter started to laugh out loud. "If we ask nicely, maybe we can become your nannies. It'll be just like Haven all over again."

"That sounds okay. But for your guys' sake, you might want to change the title to bodyguard. Unless you want Kleiver to get some more ammo against you," Valentine said, still not looking very comfortable in the car. She mumbled something about demanding improvements to be made.

'Well, I'll admit I could do with something like an automatic gun,' Jak said, before grinning at his partner. Not that she could see it, but she could probably guess. 'Not the kind of improvement you were talking about?'

She opened her mouth to give him a piece of her mind when he decided to jump one last time before they entered the city gate. She screamed again, digging her fingers in his thigh when she sought support. When she heard him laughing Valentine decided against telling him off, instead clenching her eyes shut on the way down.

Inside the garage she started to punch him on the arm, not as hard as she could have. "You irresponsible, annoying, frustrating-" she told him, only making him laugh harder.

'-girl that can't take orders," Damas finished her sentence for her. Valentine's mouth dropped open before she snapped into attention. One look from the King and Jak did the same. This guy had an even more piercing glare than Torn. Somewhere behind their backs they could hear Kleiver saying 'busted' in a singsong voice.

"I can explain," Valentine started. "There is such a good explanation for this, I swear you wouldn't believe it," She sounded like a teenager caught at sneaking out of the window at night. When Damas kept staring at her she tried once more, her voice barely a squeak. "Please let me explain. Dad."

Damas rubbed his temples, clearly wondering how he had deserved this. "Valentine, remind me what I told you earlier."

She looked at the ground, clearly not wanting to look Damas in the eyes. "I'm not allowed to go outside of the city anymore without a proper guard and a damn good reason. Because Precursors forbid something were to happen to the person that you-"

"That's enough," He interrupted her. "And what did you do?"

"Disobeyed orders," She admitted grumpily.

"And because you disobeyed my orders you missed your friend Ma'al coming to the city gates two days early," Damas told her, giving her a pointed look.

Jak watched as Valentine's mouth dropped open. He thought he'd heard the name Ma'al before, but he couldn't quite place the name. He listened to the conversation with rising interest.

"Please tell me he was wearing clothes when he arrived," She said in a pleading voice. Jak couldn't believe his ears. Who wouldn't be wearing clothes when they came to Spargus? Why wouldn't he be wearing clothes?

"One of the reasons he was acting so peeved, apparently he had taken extra care to wear some before coming here," Damas' tone insinuated that he had been regaled richly about how much extra care had been taken. "He was upset about you not being here, despite having promised you would lead him around the city."

Valentine let out a frustrated groan, turning a circle in place. "Why did the idiot come two days early?" she paused, her eyes growing bigger. "Where is he now?"

Damas pointed behind him, to the city. "He said there was a storm coming soon, and he did not want to risk missing the celebrations. I told him to feel free to use the Arena. Valentine, I am not done with you, young lady," He was cut off by Valentine pressing a kiss on his cheek, standing on her toes to reach.

"Thanks dad!" she yelled after her, running off. Her long hair waved behind her in the high ponytail as she waved behind her.

"I am not done with you yet!" he yelled after her. Damas gripped his staff tighter, pressing a hand against his face. "What am I do to with that girl?" He turned his gaze to Jak, who tried to stand up even straighter. Unlike Valentine he wouldn't be able to play the sweet adopted daughter card.

Damos seemed to be sizing him up, as if deciding how he should handle Jak. "I'm assuming from the fact you are still alive that you made up," He finally stated, crossing his hands over one another.

"Oh yeah…" Jak said, scratching his cheek where the cut had been. "We had a fight… but we ended up talking it out," No need to tell Damas that there had been some tears shed. Jak had his pride after all.

"Good work." Damas praised him. "Not many people can talk Valentine out of it once her mind has been made up." Pecker suddenly showed up beside the King, landing on his shoulder. "Don't tell me you're beginning to care about this one as well? Damas says –'"Pecker was shut up by Damas clenching his hand around his mouth.

Jak frowned. Pecker could stand taking it down a notch in his opinion, so he wasn't planning on interfering in this. "My concern was for Valentine, who has been returned safely. You're a man of talent, Jak."

Jak felt the sudden glow of pride at those words. Maybe he wouldn't end up cleaning gore from the Arena after all. With Damas praising him like this, maybe he'd even be able to get in the Arena to battle for his second Battle Amulet. With Valentine cheering him on instead of trying to kill him.

"I would like for you to help find some of the men who haven't reported back yet," Damas told him, pointing to some of the vehicles. "It is apparent that you have some skill concerning vehicles, and this mission requires such prowess."

Jak cracked his knuckles, a grin on his face. He wasn't getting chewed out, and getting a new mission to prove his worth? This day was getting better and better. Of course once his body had been cleared from Dark Eco the day couldn't have gone bad either way. Before he could move, Damas stopped him.

"Apart from that…" Damas scraped his throat, looking towards the city. "I would appreciate it if you could keep an eye on Valentine for me. You've proven yourself capable by keeping her safe today, and I have every trust you will continue to do so," The tone in which that was said suggested Jak had better make sure nothing bad happened to her.

"I will tell her that she is not to leave the city without you. That should give her some of the freedom she has been asking for, as well as grant me and the city some peace of mind."

Jak couldn't believe it. He had been prepared to beg – kind of – to be instated as Valentine's partner, and now the opportunity was just thrown into his lap? There was no way this day was getting any better. Daxter let out a big whoot next to him, clearly as excited as he was. "Do I hear that correctly? Did this dangerous duo just get upgraded to the terrific trio once again? Damas, I could kiss ya!"

Damas held up his hands to ward of any potential Ottsel kisses. "Then you will keep an eye out and make sure she doesn't do unnecessary things?" He asked once again.

"Both my eyes," Jak said with a smile. "As often as I can miss them."


	29. He's My Bo-

|Valentine|

Valentine almost started singing out loud. When was the last time she had felt this good? Not even the constant desert heat was able to make her feel horrid. The feeling of the Dark Eco was gone, she couldn't hear that voice in her head anymore and she and Jak were friends again! The thought put a skip in her step.

"Valentine, could you-" a young woman, perhaps a year younger than her, started to ask. Without pausing Valentine accepted the map she was holding out.

"Sure can!" She replied, not even listening to the question. Could life at this moment get any better? The girl watched the woman as she skipped away, not quite believing her eyes. She didn't think she had ever seen Valentine in such a good mood. What could have happened to her?

'Now I just need to check on Ma'al and...' she paused her thoughts as her skip came to a falter. Ma'al. Ma'al was in town at this exact moment, in the Arena, unsupervised. That was a definite no-no. Who knew what the Metal Head King was doing at this moment? Did they even have an Arena left right now?

Spouting some extremely colorful words she took off with a sprint towards the Arena. There was no telling what Ma'al would do if someone were to anger him. Practice rounds in the Arena were supposed to be just that, practice. People weren't supposed to get killed.

She burst into the Arena via the King's lodge, pointing a finger in front of her. "Stop it right there!" she shouted, her ponytail jerking in front of her by the momentum. Looking down she could see Ma'al looking up at her, golden eyes immediately noting her. Instead of a corpse by his feet as she had been expecting the three Metal young were looking up at their father.

"King Valentine!" he yelled back at her, obvious glee in his voice. "You have finally returned to this nest!"

Her pose dropped for a moment. This would show her, making assumptions. Still a bit annoying that she had it wrong. It was something she didn't encounter that often, or at least she didn't like to admit she was wrong very often. "Wait a second, I'll be right down," She focused once again, feeling the familiar surge. For a moment the pain was back, but the feeling soon ebbed.

The platforms that allowed the winners to receive their Battle Amulets from the King rose up. She stepped down, creating a moving stair downwards to reach her destination faster. Ma'al was waiting for her, dressed in his ivory robes with his hands on his sides. The hatchlings waited around him, panting. She raised a hand towards him with a smile. "King Ma'al, so glad to see you could make it."

He inclined his head towards her, a faint smile playing around his lips. "I would not have missed your official naming for the greatest Hunt of the year. And I must admit, this Arena of yours has some pleasure to offer."

"How many? she asked. Seemed like she had been correct after all.

"Only five up until now," he said with a predatory grin. "Though I have not killed them, for I knew it would displease you," He smoothed down his robes, before gesturing in her general direction. "May I say you are looking very fit this day. Has something good occurred?"

She scratched the back of her head. "I guess you could say that. I'm not hurting any more," She announced with a big smile. The later part of her message was delivered with more hesitation. "And well...me and Jak are friends again," She admitted, shuffling her feet.

This caused the King some surprise. "And this pleases you?" he asked her, remembering how she had felt not too long ago.

"It pleases me greatly," She answered him with certainty. If she didn't convince Ma'al she was happy with this development he might decide to eat Jak, imagining he was doing her a favor of sorts.

Ma'al surprised her by swinging his strong arms around her. Valentine found herself squished against his strong chest, muscular arms pinning her down. "Ma'al. What are you doing?" she asked him, feeling a bit hot with this action. No matter how one wished to look at it, he was a very attractive man.

He let go of her, his black hair nearly falling in his eyes as he looked down upon her. "I would have thought this is a strange custom for you as well. A female of your species, Female Rae, has informed me that this 'hug' is something which is performed when one feels joy for an occurrence."

Well, it seemed like the women in Spargus had caught on to Ma'al being around. She poked him in the side with an elbow, giving him a wink. "So that's how it is," She said in a knowing tone. "First time in town and already popular with the ladies."

He looked down at her as if he didn't understand her words. "Is this a good thing, being popular with the ladies? Did Female Rae have any special intention in teaching me?"

Holy Mar, it would seem like Ma'al was totally clueless. Not that it should surprise her, she being the only non-Metal female he had ever conversed with. "Well, if you like attention it's a good thing. It means they think you look appealing. And you should ask Miss Rae-" she put special emphasis on the miss part "- what she meant by her lesson."

Ma'al seemed to stand up a bit straighter at her words. "Then it means they like my choice of appearance. This is a very good thing which should foster further relations between our nests." Somehow he seemed very proud that being a lady magnet would improve things between Spargus and his own Hive.

"Then I shall speak more with Female-" he started.

"Miss." She interjected, trying to get rid of the Female thing as soon as she could.

"-Rae when I see her next." He finished his sentence. "She has told me that she likes to dabble in weaponry. I am interested in seeing her improvements."

Whoever this Rae girl was, she had her work cut out for her. The only guy she knew who was more clueless than Ma'al was Jak, albeit in a completely different way. When she remembered what he had said as he hugged her chased a fiery blush to her cheeks, causing Ma'al to bring his head awkwardly close.

"Is anything the matter, King Valentine?" he asked.

She pushed his face away, reminding herself to keep breathing. "I'm fine. Just my imagination running a bit wild sometimes."

|Jak, The Day After|

"Jak, you have to tell her," Daxter pleaded with him, referring to him actually being Mar. "She will try to kill you all over again if you just keep this from her."

Jak shrugged. "And what do you suggest I tell her? That I'm the sweet little kid she used to tuck into bed not too long ago? She used to babysit me for the Underground." If he was ever to have a chance at actually getting together with Valentine it would be better if she didn't know she was the one that had given him baths when he was a kid.

Daxter grinned. "You realize that it's perfectly normal to have a babysitter fetish, don't you? No man is going to judge you for wanting to get it on with-"

Jak clasped a hand in front of his friends mouth when they arrived next to Kleiver. If there was one person in town who didn't need to know about his relationship with Valentine, past or future, it was this guy.

"You're looking pretty carefree today," Kleiver said with a grin. "Don't get your hopes up, pretty boy. Just because you managed to get back into her little princess' good graces doesn't mean you'll be getting out alive today."

Jak grinned, letting go of Daxter. Like something small like this would scare him now. "Don't worry too much about me. Maybe you should try meeting me in the Arena."

The large man laughed out loud at that. "Maybe I will one day. But not with today's line-up," He showed a cryptic smile, gesturing towards the gate. Jak was the only one who would be going after a Battle Amulet today.

With a small nod Jak walked into the Arena, immediately engulfed in the cheers of the crowd. Daxter lifted up his hands to receive it, sometimes blowing a kiss to someone in the audience. Jak hardly noticed. He was looking up at where Damas sat, looking regal as always. On his left side a tall man with black hair was standing, looking down at the Arena with great interest. His ivory robes swayed lightly in a soft breeze.

And on Damas' right was Valentine. Her hair was up in the usual ponytail, her dark blue eyes locked onto him. She gave him a little wave, as if she didn't want to spoil the serious atmosphere that Damas was projecting.

Jak waved back, just as subdued as her. He couldn't help looking at her, not when she was smiling lightly like that. He watched her slight pink lips as she mouthed 'good luck' towards him, causing him to grin like an idiot until Daxter waved a hand in front of his face, making him snap back into reality.

"If you keep making goo-goo eyes at her like that, Damas might decide she's safer with you not being around," Daxter warned him, a certain amount of glee in his voice. He would have hated to say- no that was a lie. He would say 'I told you so' as often as he could when those two finally hit it off.

Pecker took the word immediately as they stepped on the platform going up, flying in from behind Damos' throne. "Greetings great fighters! The one, the only, the greatest highness of all highnesses, the magnificent-"

The man with the dark hair exchanged a look with Valentine. One slight nod of her and the stranger grabbed Pecker around the neck, nearly choking him before turning his attention back on Jak. Was this guy Ma'al? He glanced back at Valentine, suddenly a bit nervous knowing she had run off so quickly to meet this guy.

After a hand gesture of Damas Valentine stepped forth, her hands in front of her as she raised her voice to be heard around the Arena. "Another round of games has begun. This is combat to the death!" Her big eyes glanced towards Jak for a moment, a look of concern flashing towards him. "Good luck, and may the best man win!"

Jak was let down again with the platform. He knew the drill by now, he just had to make sure he survived until the end. Nothing that big, especially when the Marauders were more concerned with killing each other than him. The actual amount of shots he had to fire was almost nothing as long as he took a bit of time to aim properly.

People were cheering him on. He hardly heard their comments, caught up in the heat of the battle. All that mattered now was winning and receiving his second Battle Amulet. He could do this, he knew he could. He jumped on one of the smaller square platforms, hearing someone move on the other side in one of the moments when the crowd was more subdued. He took the opportunity to glance upward. Valentine was looking down in the Arena, her hands clenching the stone railing as she did so.

Somebody stepped. Instinct kicked in as he turned around, his gun pointing in the face of whoever had thought to sneak up on him. He was met by a very familiar face.

"Sig?!" he exclaimed, nearly having a seizure when he realized he'd almost shot his friend.

"Jak? Daxter?" the man asked, lowering his gun in surprise.

Daxter jumped up instead of hiding behind Jak's back. "SIG!"

Sig raised his gun again, shooting a Marauder that got too close without a second glance. "Well don't you two look sorrier than ever," He said, a small undertone of regret in his voice.

"What are you doing here?" Jak asked, not understanding why he would run into a friend in the Arena. Sig was supposed to be back in Haven.

"Honing my skills," Sig said, his one green eye blinking nervously as he glanced up at the King's lodge. "Let's finish this."

Jak lowered his gun, not wanting to fight the man. "Woah, come on Sig. I'm not going to fight you."

"If we don't, he'll kill us both," Sig said, now looking at Damas openly. The King was leaning forward in his throne, clearly not happy about what was happening. "Rule of the Arena. Sorry, nothing personal," Sig said, powering up his Peacemaker.

The tension lasted for a few seconds, before Sig launched the shot at the last remaining Marauder. This explained why Jak had had such an easy time, Sig had been picking them off as well.

"Blasphemy!" Damas cried out, standing up. "One must destroy the other! Complete the test or face a worse fate!" the King threatened. When Valentine reached out to touch his elbow he pulled his arm back, saying something softly but intently. "Seize them!"

|Throne Room|

Jak found himself bound but standing, next to Sig. Valentine was leaning on the side of the throne with a very alarmed look on her face. Next to her Meta was lying, seemingly as alarmed as her mistress. In contrast the black-haired man was sitting on the ground as if he were perfectly comfortable with the situation. Damas walked up to them, clearly furious.

"How dare you two defile the purity of the Arena?" he demanded of them, standing two steps above them. Jak swallowed, not liking where this was going. "Sig, your time in Haven City has poisoned you. And you, newcomer!" Damas turned to Jak, any sign of benevolence gone. "You deserve no mercy."

"I should toss you both into the jaws of the desert." He threatened, stepping back up to his throne. "However, Sig. Your years as a spy in Haven have earned you a chance to redeem yourself. But only this once." Jak looked to the side in surprise. Sig looked back, shaking his head in warning.

"Father," Valentine said softly. She looked at the King from the corner of her eye, as if she had trouble looking him straight in the eye. "If you kill him, I will find myself without a guard again," She reminded him softly.

"It would serve you well for your disobedience," Damas snapped at her, clearly not in the mood to play happy father at the moment. "Perhaps it would teach you to stay put when you are told to."

She chewed her cheek for an instance. "Perhaps so, but you yourself said he shows great potential. With the Day Star dawning, can we really afford to throw away a great warrior without a second thought?"

The man with golden eyes decided to speak up. "Even so, King Valentine, King Damas cannot afford to allow disobedience to run rampant. A swift and just punishment will ensure correct behavior from all involved parties."

"This is not your nest, Ma'al," Valentine snapped back, her head whipping around. Jak could almost see the fire spitting from her eyes. Furthermore, Jak is my bo- my bodyguard and partner. I will not have him thrown away because he refused to attack a comrade," She turned back to Damas. "As I have told you, father, I am stressing how important it is to protect your partners in the field to the children. What am I to tell them if you now kill a man for not wanting to kill a man he has fought with?"

Damas didn't look happy at Valentine's meddling, but even he had to admit he couldn't outright kill Jak for this reason. He seemed to be looking for a compromise, a way where he would still be issuing punishment without outright killing them.

"If I may?" Ma'al started, glancing at Jak as if he were sizing him up. "You were complaining about the Metal-pedes that have been harassing your couriers for some time now. Instead of myself dealing with them as you previously requested, why not ask them to do it? A task you would entrust to a King would surely be dangerous enough to form a fitting punishment for two lawbreakers?"

Damas agreed, and before Jak knew it his hands were unbound and he was being rushed towards the garage. Valentine walked in between him and Sig, taking big strides to keep up with the men. "Thanks for sticking up for me," he told her.

She looked at him in surprise. "Of course I'd stick up for you. More importantly, you two should watch out you don't get yourselves killed," She told them to look out for the special breeding pods. "Metal-pedes have an extremely short life span. If you take out the one that is hatching in the special pods it will take them months to breed new ones. Don't bother going after the grown ones unless they go after you."

She gave Sig a quick punch on the arm. "Nice to see you again, big guy. You're just in time for the celebrations."

"It's good to be back," Sig told her. "You look well, kid. Like you can finally fend for yourself."

When they reached the gate to the garage Valentine tapped Jak's wrist. He halted, ignoring the jolt he felt as she touched him. It was only a slight tap, nothing to get embarrassed over. "What's wrong?"

She looked to the side, suddenly a bit bashful. "Look, Metal nests are pretty dangerous. And it would be a shame if you were to miss tomorrow night. So...I'm just trying to say," she looked at him, suddenly giving a light tap on his cheek. "Just come back in one piece, okay?"

"Yes ma'am." He replied with a grin.

"Good. Now if you'll excuse me, I think Damas wants to chew me out. I almost envy you," she said, turning around to walk away.

"Hey, aren't you worried about me!?" Daxter suddenly demanded.

"You just come back safely as well, Daxter!" she shouted back with a grin.


	30. Desert Princess

|Valentine's Room|

Today was the big event. The day she would officially be instated as Damas' heir. She could already feel the nerves coiling around in her stomach at the thought. Would she do okay? Would she screw up? What if something bad happened? She just stepped out of her underwear when she heard a knock at the door.

'Macie found me!' she thought in a panic, ducking for cover behind the simple couch. When the knocking continued she imagined it might not be Macie. The elderly woman wouldn't be so patient on a day like this. She still remembered what Damas had given her as a punishment for meddling in his affairs without permission. 'No way. No way I'll allow something like that happen to me.' she thought, her face changing to a slightly pink color beneath her slight tan.

A voice from the other side of the door made her jump up. "Valentine, are you in there?" It was Jak's voice. At first she was happy that he had come out of the Nest fine, then she realized she was in here naked.

She could hear some faint mumbling coming from the other side of the door. It seemed like he was trying to decide what to do. She had been hoping to grab a quick shower before finding a place in Spargus to hide until evening fell. Maybe if she waited he would go away. If nobody knew where they could find her, Macie wouldn't be able to catch her.

"Valentine if you're in there, I'm going to barge in the door now," Jak finally announced, loud enough for her to hear. With a shriek she shot up from behind the sofa.

"No!" she shouted back, her voice rising a few octaves. "I'll be right there! Wait, don't bash in the door!" For all of the moments for him to decide to pay a house visit, this had to be the one. She scrambled to the small bathroom, grabbing the biggest towel she could find within a few seconds. Wrapping it around her securely she moved to the door, opening it on a crack.

She looked straight in Jak's cerulean eyes. For a moment they were frozen like that. "Does anybody know you're here?" she asked in a hushed tone, barely moving her lips. When Jak shook his head she let out a sigh of relief, before she grabbed him by the red scarf around his neck.

"Wha-" he managed to bring out before she yanked him inside the room, quickly checking the hallway. Damas had her moved into the palace carved into the city rock after the adoption, meaning any moment one of the monks could pass by. Safely inside she locked the door behind her, letting out a sigh of relief.

Jak looked at her as if he was unsure what her plans were dressed like that. "I was going to take a shower just now," she explained hurriedly. "Wha… what are you doing here, actually?" she asked him before he could say anything about her current attire. He'd seen her in a towel before when they'd been living together, so why was she being so self-conscious now? Maybe because he seemed to be having trouble keeping his eyes anywhere near her face.

The question snapped him out of his trance. "Damas said that since tonight is the big night, I have to keep a look on you. That is until Macie comes to pick you up."

She let out a groan, looking up at the ceiling. She wondered how Jak would feel if she knocked him out now so she could save her own skin. Probably not too well. "Of course he would send you," Jak was the only person she wouldn't be able to toss out of the window. She would deal with that later. First she needed a shower. "Just make yourself at home here. I'll try to make it quick."

Jak nodded, at a loss for an answer that would seem even remotely intelligent. What was he supposed to say to a barely dressed Valentine anyway? She nearly sprinted out of the room, towards a screen which he supposed shut off the bathroom from the rest of the place. The last time he had seen her move this fast was when they'd been chased by five Metal grunts.

He sat down in the sand-colored sofa, letting his gaze wander around the room. The color scheme was clearly chosen to match the Wasteland, only a few blue tints breaking the coloring. Books were scattered everywhere, next to note pads and sketches of Metal Head components. He picked up a piece of paper where Ma'al was depicted, with arrows and writing so tiny he wondered if she could even read it. Just what was the relation between those two?

The hero felt oddly at a loss for something to do while he was waiting. Normally Daxter would have been with him, but his friend had mumbled something about checking the competition before following Sig who knew where. He placed his gun on the table, arms hanging loosely on the sofa. When a soft cry was emitted from the bathroom he startled.

"Valentine, are you okay?" he asked, not sure if he should barge in there or not.

"Just some cold water… it surprised me a little bit," She answered in what was almost a meek voice.

Oh right, she was in the shower. Oh. He had to fight the image of Valentine, covered in soap as she… no. What was he thinking? He sat back down on the sofa, hands on his knees. He would not go in there. There was nothing for him to do as he sat there though, just listen to the sound of water falling down.

He remembered the way her dark brown hair almost looked black when she got out of the shower. She liked the water almost scorching hot, leaving her with a heated blush on her face. Somehow she never managed to completely dry herself off either, always having a few drops still visible whenever she came out of the bathroom.  
He cleared his throat, trying to make his mind go anywhere, anywhere besides Valentine in the shower. He was not thinking about slightly tanned skin getting soaped up, or hands wandering up and down her body. Not a moment he lingered on hot water pounding down on his own skin as he slowly pressed his mouth to hers, her hands reaching for him. They would –

"There, all done," She announced cheerily, stepping out of the shower.

Jak jumped up as if he had been caught sneaking a peek. He just barely managed to bite his tongue before he started blabbing everything he had been thinking. Stupid, stupid, stupid. He'd have thought he had some self-control.

"Are you alright?" she asked, her face indeed flushed from the hot water. When he nodded, still feeling as if he had swallowed his tongue she continued talking. "Well, in that case better get ready. I'm going to get dressed, and after that we hide. There's no way I'll do what Macie suggested,"   
Her face took on that particular look when she considered something so wildly out of her comfort zone she would never agree. "No way," She repeated, more to herself than to him.

That was before someone started banging on the door, sending her into hiding behind a large plant. "What are you doing?" he asked her, wondering what could have sent her into such a strange mood.

She pressed a finger against her lips, indicating he should keep his mouth shut. "Valentine dearie, I know you're in there!" Macie called out, slamming the door at least three times harder than necessary. "Damas told me you changed your mind, which is only natural. Open up the door, sweetheart."

Valentine shook her head violently, her wet hair spraying drops left and right. Jak didn't move from his position near the sofa, almost afraid to breathe. What was it that Macie wanted that had Valentine so cautious? When a key was inserted in the door, she let out a long moan of agony.

Macie stepped into the room, her white hair in the same bun as usual. She was followed by the three young Metal Heads, who immediately ran towards Valentine.  
"Traitors," She said out loud, before turning to Macie. "Macie, you have it all wrong, I swear to the Precursors and to Mar. I never said anything about changing my mind."

"Tuttut," Macie said, grabbing Valentine by the ear, dragging her up from her crouching position. Her eyes flashed towards Jak as she grabbed the towel around her with two hands. "Damas says he wants you to look your part tonight. It's good thing you've already showered, that saves us the job of washing you."

"No, I really don't need-"

"I already told Mira and the other girls about what I had planned, and they are really looking forwards to helping you shine, young lady. Say goodbye to young Jak now, and get ready to really shine like the gem you are," Macie started to drag the young woman to the door, ignoring her pleas.

"Jak, do something!" she pleaded, before Macie stuck a finger in the air.

"Any of you two children try anything, and I won't cook for either of you for a whole year," Now that was a threat that got the two thinking. Jak didn't know about Valentine, but he doubted he would last a month without a taste of Macie's pies. He shrugged, waving goodbye as she obediently trailed after the woman. It would seem the lure of sweets was too much for even her to resist, or she didn't want to lose her towel with a man watching.

|Evening|

"This grub is sweee-eeet!" Daxter exclaimed in between bites of a fruit pastry. For the grand occasion Jak had been offered the chance to have dinner with Damas, Ma'al and Valentine as the latter's bodyguard, though Valentine was nowhere to be seen. For now the four men were left to their own devices, making Jak feel very uncomfortable as they sat on the thick carpet.

Damos seemed to have gotten over his anger from the day before, though that could also be because he was constantly hindered by his formal outfit. Annoyed he tugged at the collar, muttering something about keeping up appearances. Jak took another bite of the skewered meat pieces, trying to ignore the piercing, golden gaze of Ma'al.

The man in front of him had only eaten meat, as rare as he could get it. For some reason he had a Metal Stone on his forehead, making Jak doubt his sanity. Ignoring the man's mental capacities, the fact remained that Valentine obviously liked Ma'al. Which made Jak feel very, very nervous. The man spoke as Jak reached for his beer cup, making their eyes cross.

"It would seem King Valentine has accepted you back into her good graces," Ma'al observed, ignoring Daxter as the Ottsel made his way through a plate of very choice dates. "One should be grateful she has had the mercy," Ma'al made clear that he would not have been so lenient had it been him.

Damas nodded at the notion. "It is a good thing my heir has shown she is above petty revenge. I am pleased you have managed to talk things out. Now if you were to be so obedient as well…" he noted, referring to the incident of the day before.

Jak swallowed. Looking straight at Ma'al he answered with a slight smile playing around his lips. "Of course I'm happy we are friends again. We were very close back in Haven," He waited to see if Ma'al would react to that choice of words.

"Yet she still has not agreed to have eggs with you," Ma'al replied calmly, confusing Jak. Why would he need to have eggs with Valentine? They'd had plenty of meals together already. "Until the day she chooses someone to do that with, I shall still consider you a rival for her affection."

Damos as well sent some side-eyed glances towards the robed man, as if considering if he should somehow intervene in this. "Ma'al has been an invaluable help to our city in these few years," He said, in an awkward attempt to break the tension. It was obvious the man wasn't forced a lot to make polite dinner conversation. "The Metal Scouts he has granted to Valentine's pupils have already shown they will be of great use in the future."

Ma'al bowed his head slightly, acknowledging the compliment. Jak's mind was once again racing, trying to fit together the puzzle pieces. He thought he had heard Ma'al mentioned before, but he couldn't remember in what context.

"Did you forget already, Jak?" A voice he knew all too well asked him, coming from behind his back. He turned back, leaning on one hand as he did so. For a moment he could not remember breath being necessary.  
Valentine stood in the doorway, looking like a real princess. Her dress was dark red, embroidered with gold thread in elaborate symbols and almost too tight to be decent. Strips of the same red cloth were wound around her arms, draping down in longs sleeves while her shoulders were left bare. Deep red gemstones glittered in her hair as she moved towards the seated men, almost a bit shy.

"I thought I heard Kleiver saying he mentioned it to you, that Ma'al is a Metal King. It is the reason why he is able to grant us some of his children," Even her lips seemed a bit redder, a bit fuller than usual. Then the meaning of her words hit home, making him break his eyes away from her.

"A Metal King?!" Daxter shrieked in his place, at once taking cover behind Jak as Valentine seated herself on her knees next to Damas. "Why the hell would there be a Metal King here?"

Valentine took a huge bite from a meat pastry, answering while she waved it around. "Oh, relax you two. Ma'al and I have reached a very good understanding with each other. He won't eat anyone that lives in Spargus, and in return we don't kill any of his children."

Ma'al gave Valentine a heartfelt smile. "It is as King Valentine says. I have no wish to harm anyone in this city," His eyes glanced towards Jak for a moment. "Unless a person would wish to bring harm to my fellow King."

Valentine made herself more comfortable, her knee stroking past Jak's as she did so. She licked some of the meat juice from her fingers before she answered Ma'al. "King Ma'al seems to be forgetting that I will deal with any possible threats," The smile she granted the King was almost that of a predator.

She turned to Damas, a slight hint of disapproval and horror in her voice. "Macie gave me reason to believe that it is my father who I have to thank for this attire," She seemed to be terrible displeased, taking a deep breath. Jak tried to disguise his glances towards the tightening dress parts as a result, hoping nobody would take notice. Was it suddenly getting hotter in here?

Damos gave her a smile in return. "I believe it was my daughter who said that a ruler should dress according to their station if they are to inspire their people. I was only following your advice, just like I have done yesterday."

This caused Valentine to choke on the sweet milk tea she had been sipping. "Well played, father," She granted him, a wry smile on her face. "Though those words were spoken when I was not yet expected to rule myself."

The two of them shared a stern look, before a corner of Valentine's mouth started to twitch. Before any of the other diners knew what was happening, she almost started to snort with laughter, giving in to the urge to laugh. Damas followed soon after, clapping her on her bare back as they did so. Ma'al and Jak were left to watch dazed as Daxter started to eat again, keeping close to Jak.

"Trust me when I say that all women know how to make a man bend to their will," Damas said, looking happier than Jak had ever seen him looking. It made him smile himself, especially when he saw how Valentine was almost radiating happiness.

"And when I saw that some men know how to get back at a woman, be sure to believe that as well," The two continued to snicker a bit, seemingly having made up. Damas pulled on his fancy white collar, casting Valentine a grin. She fiddled with her necklace, obviously wishing she had a collar that came so high up.

Damas and Ma'al soon ended up in a discussion about tactics, leaving Valentine and Jak some time to talk. He gave her an appreciating smile. "This is what you were so scared about this morning?" he asked, gesturing a hand to her outfit.

She cast her eyes down to her hands, fiddling nervously. "Ah… I haven't worn a dress in so long," She confessed. "The last time I wore one, I think I must have been twelve. I guess I was a little afraid."

Jak let out a chuckle of surprise. "You, scared? Of what then?" he had trouble imagining Valentine as truly afraid of something. She'd befriended a Metal King for crying out loud, something which he was trying very hard to ignore.

She seemed to be looking any way except his. "That I would look horrible in a dress, I guess," She mumbled, just loud enough to be heard by him. "It's just been so long. I couldn't imagine…" Dear Precursors, this admittance had caused her to blush such a charming shade of pink.

He pushed his knee against hers for a moment, not looking at her either when he spoke. "I think you look lovely in that dress."

He could see her head move so she could look at him, almost sounding shocked at the compliment. "You think so? Really?" she sounded like she couldn't quite believe him.

He turned to look at her, feeling her bangs stroke past his cheek for a moment. He hadn't thought she'd be this close to him. He moved back a little bit, in case Damas was watching them. "I think I haven't seen anyone who would look better dressed like you are. It reminds me of a princess."

He wondered how many more shades she was able to blush, and he most certainly wanted to find out.


	31. The Hero and the Princess

|Valentine|

Just who was the genius that had designed this dress in the first place? She could feel how it tightened in places every time she drew a breath and she didn't like it at all. Not to mention it was impossible to fight in something like this! She had settled down a little bit after Jak's compliment – who would have thought she'd live to see the day that happened? – but she was still very aware of not only her body, but his too. The warmth of his knee reminded her constantly that they were sitting quite close.

The door opened, and with a plaintive cry Meta rushed in, followed by the three hatchlings. It would seem that Macie had gotten her hands on her friend as well, since Meta was sporting a collar set with sapphires. Before long Meta had settled between her and Damas, placing her head on Valentine's shoulder. "Poor Meta." Valentine said. "They got you too, didn't they?"

Meta let out a whine, sending Valentine images of her taking off the collar so she'd be comfortable again. The three hatchlings had run over to Ma'al, who was busy giving them his undivided attention. Valentine reached around Meta's long neck, trying to find the clasp that closed the collar. "At least I can make sure you don't have to suffer tonight." Valentine cooed to her friend, getting rid of the collar.

"What'd you do that for?" Sig's deep voice sounded from the doorway. It would seem he had made an attempt at dressing up before being caught in a whirlwind of sorts. Disheveled didn't even come close to describe the usually stoic warrior. "That Metal Head was not pleased at being dressed up, and now you undid all of my hard work, Cherry."

Damas seemed to be surprised as well to see Sig arrive only now. "I do not recall giving you orders to capture my daughter's pet." He said out loud, tugging once again on his collar. It was painfully clear Damas would be happy getting run over by a Metal Head so he would have an excuse to change back into his normal attire.

"It was that Macie woman. She knows where to hit people so it hurts." Sig said, walking over to the table. He plopped down opposite Damas and Valentine, grabbing the nearest piece of food he could get his hands on. "Next time we have a Marauder attack or something, I say we send her out to deal with them. She'll have them scrubbing the city walls before they know what hit them."

This elicited laughter from everyone on the table, except Ma'al who seemed to have one of his children stuck in his robes for the moment. When they caught on, more laughter sounded. For the first time in forever, Valentine felt relaxed and cheerful. She couldn't even remember laughing out loud with Damas so happy, or actually feeling excited for the party that night. She popped a date in her mouth, nodding as Damas started to set out some battle tactic he'd read about in an ancient book. When she set her hand down she accidentally brushed by Jak's hand, causing her to pull it back as if they'd exchanged a Dark Eco shot.  
She gave him an apologizing smile for startling him, quickly reaching for her milk tea. Maybe they were sitting too close together to be comfortable. But she didn't want to move, and he hadn't moved either. She allowed herself to daydream for a moment that he also liked their current situation.

Daxter jumped on her shoulder, looking at her face with a whistle. "Girl, you're about as red as your dress. Did you have too much to drink already?"

She gave Daxter an annoyed look. "Daxter, I'm drinking tea. It's not intoxicating."

"You'd be surprised." Daxter told her, leaning an elbow against her as he talked. "When me and Sig were out earlier, I had all kinds of stuff to drink that I wasn't expecting to have an impact. What were you two up to this morning anyway?"

Next to her Jak nearly choked on his beer, coughing as he looked away. Valentine patted him on the back, not seeing what his problem was all of a sudden. "I had a shower, and Jak watched as Macie got a hold of me. For a bodyguard he gave me up pretty quickly to the opposition."

"Don't blame me for not going up against Macie." Jak joked, having recovered from the mishap. "If she can bully Sig in obeying neither of us stood a chance."

Valentine chuckled as Meta demanded to be stroked. "For a pair of heroes, we're actually pretty big pushovers." She added with a grin on her face. "Whoa!" She dodged back as Meta grabbed Daxter from her shoulder, setting down the Ottsel and starting to groom him.

"Valentine, make her stop!" He shouted helplessly.

"What can we do, Daxter?" Jak asked with a grin on his face. "Valentine just said it, we're pushovers, bullied by old women."

Valentine took pity – after chuckling a bit first – releasing Daxter from his unsolicited bath. The Ottsel quickly retreated to Jak, finding safety there. Valentine ignored the two men, exchanging cooing sounds with the Metal Head. Thanks to the bond she had with Meta she knew exactly how much the Metal Head cared about her, and Meta knew she was cared for in return. She hadn't established that kind of bond with Ma'al yet, and only slightly with the three hatchlings in the city. But as she grew stronger, she would get better at it.

"Valentine, if you're done confessing your love to your pet?" Damas asked, looking down on her. Looking around her she noticed all the men had gotten up from their seats. Hurriedly she got up as well, smoothing down her dress. Damas gave her an encouraging look, turning up one corner of his mouth. She nodded back at him, suddenly very aware of how much her relation to him had changed. From stranger to guardian to daughter. It filled her with a glow of pride.

|Jak|

Jak resisted the urge to yawn, standing behind Valentine. Over her bare shoulder he could see the residents of Spargus listening to Pecker, who was giving one of his endless speeches. Valentine rolled her shoulders, indicating that she too just wanted to get it over with. For the second time that night Jak wondered exactly what kept that dress up. Without any shoulder straps and the back cut out insanely low he couldn't help but let his thoughts digress on the subject.

Next to him, on the other side of the throne, Sig was standing, with Ma'al next to him, who had long given up the attempts at looking as if he understood what was going on. When Jak considered the man was a Metal King he flexed his hands a little. He didn't like it that Valentine was so cordial with a Metal King. Especially one that looked like that.

Finally they were at the last part of the ceremony, where Valentine and Damas shared a cup of red wine together. Daxter repressed a snigger when he saw Valentine's face contort at the taste of the wine. She'd never been much of a drinker. In a sudden display of affection Damas threw his arms around the young woman, pulling her in a hug. She replied in kind, hugging the older warrior back, careful not to hurt him. Their bodies still packed a punch quite different from that of normal people.

Everyone cheered, and then the crowd started to disperse, out of the Arena and into Spargus lit by the light of the full moon. Only the royal group paused for a moment, because some of the members seemed unsure about what they were supposed to do.

"You're sure you won't join us?" Valentine asked Damas, looking as if she was a bit worried.

The man looked away, still a bit embarrassed by his hugging his official daughter. "You kids go have fun. I need to go listen to the other old men, who are going to give me a hard time about having a beautiful young daughter now."

"What is it that I am supposed to do now?" Ma'al asked. He seemed to be beyond confused as to his exact purpose in the proceedings. "Am I supposed to mingle with your Nest?"

"Well…" Valentine started, hesitatingly. Sig stepped up, patting Ma'al on the shoulder, actually sending the King staggering a bit.

"I think we go see how much this guy can drink." Sig said, thereby revealing his plans for the evening. Not that they could blame him, he was only just back and already had had a tongue-lashing from his own king.

"I am a bit parched, yes." Ma'al replied, clearly innocent as to what Sig was planning.

Jak watched Valentine as she scrunched her face a little bit. Before she could object too loudly, he interjected. "I think Ma'al is old enough to take care of himself, no?" She had to admit he was right, though she didn't sound too sure about it.

Daxter looked between Jak and Valentine, pensive. "Just a moment, please." He said, gesturing Jak to step away from the group for a moment. Behind them they could hear Valentine warning Sig about getting certain individuals drunk. "Okay buddy, pleaaaaase tell me you're going to make a move tonight." Before Jak could say anything Daxter continued. "I'm getting all hot by the looks you're throwing Valentine, and if you don't get it out of your system her new daddy is going to notice."

Jak had a sudden vision of Damas finding out and sending him into another Nest, on foot. He shuddered. "Exactly." Daxter said. "So what you're going to do is just come straight with her. Tonight." Jak tried to argue again, but he couldn't get a word in between. "It's perfect. You're both feeling better, there's a party, starlight. And if you don't do it, I'mma tell her."

"You wouldn't." Jak gasped, looking back nervously. Daxter gave him the 'watch me' look, turning around to the others as if he was going to yell something. Jak quickly placed a hand in front of his best friend's mouth. "Okay, fine, fine. What are you going to do?"

Daxter grinned. "I've never seen a drunk Metal Head before. So I think I'm going to watch that."

So it was that five minutes later Jak found himself alone with Valentine, him under strict orders that nothing was allowed to happen to the new heir to Spargus. The faint 'or else' still hung in the air as Valentine shuffled her feet around a little bit.

"You don't have to stay with me." she said eventually, biting her bottom lip. "If you'd rather, you could go with Daxter and the others."

Jak pulled his eyes away from her lips, feeling extremely nervous. He had fought countless monsters, been through spooky crypts and the thing that scared him the most was being alone with Valentine? "No!" he said, rapidly. When she blinked in surprise he could slap himself in the face. Too eager, dammit. "I mean, if you want me to go, I'll go but…"

"Oh, no, no. I mean, you can stay." She answered him, holding her hands out in an attempt to seem as convincing as possible. "I'd like it if you stayed." She said. Before he had too much time to analyze every part of that sentence she took his wrist, pulling him along with her. "There's going to be fireworks later." She confided in him. "They'll be best over the ocean."

The way she pulled him along reminded him of the early days back in Haven. She had been the one that kept their spirits high. In those long nights when neither had been able to sleep she'd come to check up on him, and they'd share hot chocolate and just talk. She knew about his time in Sandover village, and how he'd grown up. He knew something about her parents and other relatives, even if she hadn't seemed comfortable discussing it at the time.

Valentine had always been the one who pulled him with her, making sure he wouldn't stumble along the way. If he had to choose between her and the Light Eco, he wouldn't even need a second to think. There was only one answer possible. She had evolved from a girl that struggled to seem cheery to a confident woman, ready to take on anything. He would never make the mistake of abandoning her again. That had cost them precious years that they could have had together. He realized he didn't want to waste that much time again. When had just looking become insufficient?

Just as they reached the middle of the main drag, music started to play out of the speakers all around the city. The glow from the Eco lights mixing with the fire's smoke all around of Spargus, giving a new feeling to the celebration and an ethereal glow to the surrounding areas.

They were stopped on their way by a multitude of people who wanted to congratulate her. Even Kleiver stopped by, seemingly pleased to see Jak hurrying to keep track of where Valentine was going in that throng of people. She kept smiling and waving, nodding as she agreed with what people were telling her.

He'd only taken his eyes off of her for a second, and when his gaze flickered back to where she had been standing he couldn't see anyone in a deep red dress anymore. It was as if someone had grabbed his heart, squeezing it tight in his chest. He looked around him, trying to keep his head cool. Reasonably speaking he knew nothing bad could happen to her here.

And yet this crowd pushing around him was making his heart beat erratically. In his younger years he had never seen many people, and his time in the Baron's ward had done little to make him more trusting about being surrounded by large groups. He felt nervous, the Dark Eco bubbling around in his blood as if he had never been cured by its counterpart.

"Jak." Valentine's voice was clear, carrying over the crowd. She was standing only a bit further away, on a small ledge so he'd be able to see better. She smiled at him, waving. "What are you waiting for? If we don't hurry we won't be able to see anything." he was glad to have found her again, he started to actually listen to the music and found he was swaying a little to the beat. Listening intently as he made his way for her, he heard a sick drum solo sound before the chorus started.

He nodded, even if at that distance it wasn't necessary. Keeping his eyes trained on her he made his way through the crowd of partying Wastelanders, every one of them singing or shouting, making the entire event chaotic at least. When he reached her he was slightly out of breath. She knelt down slightly, reaching out a hand as she noted his distress. "Are you alright? What's wrong?"

He took her hand in his, holding it tightly. She was still here. Thank the Precursors she was still here. This fear of losing her was irrational, and so improbably even Valentine couldn't calculate the odds. "I'm fine." He managed to say, his voice a bit hoarse.

She bumped her forehead against his for a moment, her eyes closed in a smile. She smelled like jasmine and lavender, the bump completely clearing his previous fear. "How did you manage without me?" she asked him with a smile, before presenting him with ice cream. "I have cherry and peach. Which one do you like best?"

When he choose peach she looked as if she had been expecting it. He still hadn't let go of her other hand, keeping it firmly in his grasp. She wiggled her fingers, not to escape but merely to draw his attention to it. "You sure you're okay?" she asked him.

"Just… don't let go of my hand." He answered, lacing his fingers in hers. She seemed to be attempting to hide in her ice cream when he said that.

"… okay." Valentine replied him, allowing him to lead the way. He weaved his way around the crowd, trying to avoid the thicker pockets of people. He hadn't realized there were so many people in Spargus. Children ran around screaming, playing tag or other games while the adults spent their time socializing.

Her hand was smaller than his, frailer. Yet he often had felt she was the strongest out of the two of them. Subconsciously he let his thumb rub the side of her wrist, not seeing the way her face flushed behind him. In response she held on to his hand tighter, butterflies in her stomach.

He had to help her get up to a higher point, her dress not made for very adventurous exploits. The gemstones in her hair flickered in the moonlight. They had a great view, despite not having gone up much. More importantly, they had privacy. He bit his tongue, attempting not to seem too nervous. He couldn't remember ever being his tense. He tried to imagine how other people went about this sort of thing. Was there a protocol or manual he had missed somewhere? Why wasn't this as simple as fighting Metal Heads?

He cleared his throat. "Valentine." He started, making her turn her head towards him. Good, he had her attention. Which meant now he actually had to continue with what he wanted to say. Fuck.

"Yes, Jak?" Oh dear Precursors, she was actually waiting for him to go on.

He took a deep breath, once again taking her hand, this time enclosing it in both his hands. Her mouth formed a small 'o' as she looked into his eyes. "I… just wanted to say…" Was he going mute again? That would be almost a blessing, he didn't think he could go through with this. His heart was pounding so fervently he found it hard to think straight.

She moved closer to him, leaning towards him. "Yes?"

He could do this. He was a hero and he could certainly make his feelings clear to a woman. "I wanted to say that I have no intention to make you wait another three years for me." he announced, hoping that was a good start. "That is, I… like you, a lot. I feel more for you than I've ever felt for anyone else."

There it was, that was it. He had doomed himself and this friendship beyond all hope. Any moment now she would start laughing at him.

"I like you too. A lot." She replied, sounding as if she didn't believe her ears.

"You do?" he asked, unsure if things could actually go like this. "Th-that's great!" he exclaimed. He felt elated, as if a huge weight had just dropped from his chest. Looking back at her, straight into her dark blue eyes, he realized he had one last question to ask her. "Does this mean I can kiss you?"

She chuckled, seemingly as nervous as him. "Yes. I think it does mean you can kiss me."

He reached out towards her, brushing back some hair behind her ear as he did so. As he closed in her breath smelled of cherries, sweet and promising. And then… fireworks.

|Bar|

"Pftttthahahahahahahahahahha!" Daxter bust out laughing as the Metal King once again tried to stand and failed. Sig was sitting next to Ma'al trying to convince him to stay put until one of them could help him back to his seat, which he declined with drunk dignity, stating he was a King and needed no help walking.

"I'm sorry Ma'al, but, what did you say?" Sig asked as he once again tried to utter something remotely language related.

"Taflefbnl Medi LIFhaledme" Ma'al repeated for the tenth time that night, still confused as to why his mind was fine but his body would not obey. Trying once more to stand and knocking over a table, two chairs, and someone stupid enough to be in the way seemed to really drive the point home.

"Whoa there pretty man! Just take it easy, you can't go no where like that." Daxter said as he stood on the bar counter in front the Metal King, hands on his hips like he'd seen Tess do countless times as he laid drunk on a table top. "Trust me man, I've been like this many a time! Just eat some food, and keep your ass in your seat. Time will fly! Just let loose a little."

"Yeah, you sure have cherry!" Sig stated laughing as he downed another drink, whipping his mouth with the back of his hand. "I remember this one time you got so drunk you confessed your unbridled love for everyone's favorite hero, Jak!" as rowdy laughter and merriment filled the bar. "Get this King some food over here! As greasy and rare as you can!" as Sig tried to calm the Metal down, Daxter sat there, contemplating if he should dish to Sig or not.

"What's a matter Cherry? Gonna wet your sitting so close to Ma'al?" Sig teased at the look on the little Ottsels face. The rat looked from side to side, twiddling with his hands, ears going back before he finally hopped over to him, landing on his shoulder.

"Hey, big guy. You think you can keep a secret?" Sig narrowed his eyes as he ordered another drink, lifting one brow as he looked at the little thing on his shoulder.

"Yeah Fur ball, as long as it doesn't put any lives in danger, I can keep a secret." he answered lifting his drink to his lips, taking a long gulp enjoying the rum and coke he kept ordering. Daxter looked around the bar again and leaned in closer, if that was even possible.

"Okay, so you know how hard Jak has fallen for Valentine, right?" after Sigs nod of approval he continued, dropping his voice even lower "Well, he's confessing to her tonight." Daxter gave him a minute to let it sink in. Jak, the great hero, with Damos' new adopted daughter, princess of Spargus.

Sig sputtered out the drink he had been taking, getting it everywhere in the direct vicinity of the front of his face. What did he just hear?! "Would you repeat that?"

"Yeah that's right big guy. Jak finally grew a pair of balls. How great is that? I really hope it works out for him. He needs to be happy."

"Well thank the Precursors! It's about damn time." Sig stated with excitement as they both fist bumped to the news, ordering a new round for everyone.

"Hello King Valentine's nest mates!" Ma'al was back and leaning in between them both, a silly grin on his face as he smelled of liquor. "Are we ready to continue the festivities?"


	32. The Hangover

|Valentine|

She touched her lips again, thinking back on the night before. Jak had kissed her! She had kissed Jak! She barely suppressed a squeal, content to just think back on what had happened that night. There had been a lot of kissing, that was one. She hadn't thought it could feel so nice, or that it was possible it was never enough.

Jak's hands had been warm and slightly callused, holding hers throughout the entire night. She had put her head on his shoulder, watching the fireworks and talking. He had stroked her face, and told her she looked beautiful. She hid her hands in her face when that memory popped up. Was this what it felt like to be in love with someone, and have them actually like you in return?

"General… hey General!" When she looked up she was met by Koram, who was examining her from up close. He didn't seem too pleased by what he saw.

"What?" she asked, surprised at being disturbed in the middle of her daydreaming. She had the kids do more teamwork with their hatchlings, where they had to make sure to sneak up on some of the older warriors without them noticing. That should have kept them busy for a while.

"Daori has been chewing on your boot for at least five minutes now, and you didn't notice a thing. Are you getting sick or something? You look all flushed," The young boy said, thinking Valentine looked like the two girls he was forced to work with, when they were cooing over the older boys in the city. But Valentine was too old to have cooties, right?

Valentine looked down, seeing that Daori was indeed using her boot as a chew toy. "Gah, and these were my favorites!" she exclaimed, gently prying the offended material from the young Scout. Daori gave an insulted sneeze, walking back to her partner with her tail in the air. Did all Metal Heads have an attitude from the moment they were born, or was it just the contact with their human partners that made them this way?

Meta sat next to her, purring contently. Valentine had been unable to keep a secret from her companion, seeing as how the connection worked both ways. She just hadn't done it on purpose this time, which probably showed just how happy she had been at the time. Euphoric was probably a better word.

When she could hear Daxter's piercing voice hailing over the market place she immediately looked up. She hadn't seen Jak since he had dropped her off at the palace the night before – saying goodbye had taken considerably longer than it used to – and she was rather eager to see him again. It wasn't long before Daxter showed up, followed by Jak who was carrying the old communicator she had made a long time ago to send word to Haven.

"Valentine, there's my lucky gal!" Daxter said, jumping on her lap without a second thought. "Jak here won't spill the beans, so you have to tell me!" He lowered his voice to half a whisper, pointing at his best friend. "How good of a kisser is he? When we were younger he used to practice on a pillow, so I need to know if that particular training paid off."

"Daxter!" Jak shouted in pure horror at having that detail from his youth brought up in front of his new girlfriend. Valentine couldn't help but let out a giggle, standing up, leaving Daxter to scramble up to her shoulders or drop to the ground. She walked – almost ran, but she managed to keep a hold on herself, if barely – and pressed a slow kiss on Jak's lips, making the frown on his face melt away.

"Let's just say that was one lucky pillow," She told Daxter, her hand entangling in Jak's again. That statement made Jak even more embarrassed as he looked between the two of them.

"Is that how it's going to be from now on?" he asked, trying to sound as if he was insulted.

Valentine ran a finger across his goatee, sending him a smile that was nowhere near modest. "As if you really mind."

"Oh, get a room you two." Daxter jested. "Anyway, Damas said that thing started beeping like crazy a few minutes ago, and he said you knew how it worked. So work your magic on something else than our boy here, so we know what's up."

Valentine took over the metal orb she had constructed all those years ago, wondering why it would have started beeping. It had barely managed to transmit one message from what Jak had told her. She wiggled her nose as she looked at the thing. "Here it comes guys, secret of the trade," She said, not too loudly. She knew one of the wires inside was a bit loose, so she just gave it a few shakes.

"Jak, I'm glad to know you're still alive," Valentine's eyes popped open in surprise. Now that was a voice she hadn't heard in a long time. Seemed like Ashelin had hired someone who knew their way around a transmitter. "I hope you managed to meet up with Valentine like you wanted to. I see Damas still keeps tabs on his old beacons. Listen, I've gotta see you immediately. I'll be waiting by the oasis, but I don't have much time. Please come find me."

The trio looked at each other with a grin. "That sounds like some more adventure," Valentine said. It was probably a good thing, running around like a love-sick teenager was most likely killing her tough girl image.

Jak nodded, taking the orb from her again. He gave it a few shakes, making sure it wasn't keeping anything from them. "I wonder what she wants though. And how she got here. Haven didn't have the resources to get all the way here when they kicked me out."

"Well, let's get a buggy and head out, it's not like Damas is going to mind us going out to kick some more ass, as long as we keep his precious girl safe," Daxter said, batting his eyes at Valentine.

"The day I can't take care of myself anymore is the day I get stuck on that torture device Damas calls a throne," Valentine muttered.

They rolled their shoulders, getting ready for their self-assigned mission. That was until Sig's voice practically roared for Valentine. The woman froze, looking over her shoulder towards the approaching warrior. One bone-crunching hug later – at least Jak wasn't spared one either – he finally said why he had called out for her so desperately.

"It's Ma'al," Sig said, looking as if he had run out of options. "He refuses to come out of his room, claiming me an' Daxter poisoned him last night."

"You got him drunk?" Valentine moaned, rubbing her fingers across her temples. "But I was just heading out." She looked at Jak, clearly indicating she would rather go with him.

He draped an arm around her shoulder for a moment, letting her lean against him. "Don't worry. I'll go see what Ashelin wants and come back here." He grinned. "You won't have to miss your bodyguard for too long." He stole a kiss from her as she let out a gasp, before sauntering off like a man who had just won one of the greatest battles of all time.

Valentine clasped her hands in front of her face. "Sig, I thought this would get better when I knew how he felt about me. At this rate I'll be turned into a blubbering mass of emotion." She gave Meta a nod, indicating she would appreciate it if the Metal Head could lend Jak a paw while he was out.

Sig looked taken aback at that confession. "Riiight. Listen kiddo, does Damas know about you and Jak already? 'Cuz he might have something to say, and I can't guarantee all of it is going to be sunshine and kitten whiskers."

Valentine felt a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. How was Damas going to react to the news? Was he going to turn into the stereotypical father, ready to take out his Precursor staff to chase Jak through the town? The vision made her laugh more than she could have anticipated. "First let's go check on Ma'al. Who knows what he's going through."

Sig grunted his agreement with that. "That King is one tough cherry to pop."

They arrived at the guest rooms soon enough, Valentine asking Sig about the news from Haven. It hadn't looked too great when he had left, and it had been on its way to become even worse. Veger was a madman, and the majority of the council had been stupid enough to let him have his way. And no, there wasn't any sign of the Kid, and he had checked. It had looked like Samos knew something, the old Samos, his younger version having disappeared to Mar knew where.

Valentine knocked on the door, gently so as not to startle the King. "Ma'al? Are you in there?"

There was some stumbling on the other side of the door, before it opened to a small creak. One of Ma'als golden eyes peered out, blood-shot. Valentine got a very royal whiff of stale alcohol. She didn't remember ever seeing the man so disheveled. "King Valentine? Thank the old Kings you are here. And you brought the poisoner, how splendid."

Valentine pushed the door open, ignoring the fact that Ma'al had seemed to have gotten rid of his robe somewhere in the night. Sig caught her looking around for it, because he provided an explanation of it, not entirely succeeding in hiding his glee. "If you're looking for his dress, he threw it in the ocean last night while yelling some gibberish. I ended up chasing him, which wasn't too hard since he couldn't walk in a straight line."

"I demand this miscreant be executed at once." Ma'al mumbled, looking as if speaking alone was a form of torture. "And that an antidote be found for this wretched pain." He brought his hands to his stomach, looking like the definition of miserable.

"I told you not to get him drunk," Valentine moaned, leading the naked King to the bed where he immediately hid his head under the pillows. "Now look what you've done."

"Hey, it ain't my fault this kitten here can't hold his liquor," Sig said. If he had known Metal Heads were so weak to alcohol he would have taken a six-pack with him when he went hunting. Ma'al was a King and he had been stumbling left and right the night before.

Ma'al let out some more moans, clearly not caring that Valentine saw him in this state. "If there is no cure for this, King Valentine, I wish you to be the one to end it. Make my death swift and painless, as a last favor in our comradery."

Valentine rolled her eyes when she heard that. For a tough guy Ma'al could be a pretty big drama queen. "I'm not killing anyone here," she made perfectly clear, walking to one of the jugs standing on a side table that had been miraculously unharmed in the war zone. "More importantly, I'm missing out on a date of sorts here, so the least I can do is clean you up." She filled up a cup of water, looking at Sig for help in this particular case. She didn't exactly have a lot of experience with hangovers.

"I shall obtain an entire plate of dates for you if you provide a cure." Ma'al promised her, bringing the water to his mouth as she told him to.

Sig shrugged, having gotten pretty resistant to his favorite poison quite a while ago. "Best thing you can do is keep him in bed and give him lots to drink and protein." Valentine made a gagging sound when she thought about what Ma'al preferred to eat. "And maybe pop the cherry in a shower. That should get him somewhat refreshed."

Valentine tried to ignore Sig's particular choice of words, opting to pat Ma'al on the head as he drank his water. When her communicator on her wrist started ringing she retreated to the far side of the room, away from the source of the liquor smell. "Hello, the one and only Valentine speaking."

"Valentine, hey." Jak's voice sounded static through the communicator, but that didn't matter. "Listen, if you don't have anything to do today, Damas hasn't given me anything to do. Fancy going for a drive?"

"Well…" she looked up, towards the two men in the room. Sig caught her look and gave her a thumbs-up, indicating that she could go if she really wanted to. "Sure. Do you have any specific location in mind?"

"Not really. Daxter says anything is fine, as long as we steer clear of the Marauders. Just had a run-in with them, and they singed his tail." She could hear Daxter swearing in the background, before Jak replied something back to him.

She scratched the back of her head for a moment, thinking things over. "Well, would you be up for a trip back to the temple? I haven't seen Seem since her meeting with Veger there, and I was hoping to ask her some questions about it." Not to mention she would have to tell Seem to warm up to Jak. And that she could stop making the potion, since Valentine had no more need for it. She still had a full flask attached to her belt, though it served no real purpose anymore.

"Sounds good. Who knows, we might discover another one of those talking statues. So… see you at the garage in a few?" he asked her, suddenly sounding almost bashful.

She smiled, even though he couldn't see it through the communicator. "Yep. See you there!" she looked up, seeing Ma'al rubbing his temples as he sat up. Sig was pouring him another glass of water. "Sure you can take care of our big boy here?" Valentine asked, looking at the two men.

"Sure I can. Wouldn't be the first time I'm layin' down the law for a Metal." Sig answered her. "You go out and roll around with the peppers out there." He didn't add that if he stayed inside with the King Macie wouldn't enroll him for another near-suicide mission.

Valentine waved a hand to the two men, ignoring Ma'al pleas not to be left around with the man who was out to murder him. "Then I'll see you two as soon as I'm back. Ma'al, don't worry too much. Sig is only trying to help you, so show some gratitude."

She ran out of the guest rooms, followed by the sound of a sputtering Ma'al who was, as far as the sounds told her, was being dragged to the shower by a merciless Sig. She reached the garage in record time, but was already beaten to it by Jak who was waiting for her in the Dune Hopper. In the passenger seat?

She skidded to a halt in front of the vehicle, not knowing what he was planning. "What's going on here? What's happening?"

Meta gave her a bump against her back, letting Valentine scratch her behind the ears as Jak answered. "I thought it was about high time you learn how to drive. Who knows when there'll be an emergency that requires you to be able to do it, right?"

Panic rose in her throat. For all her smarts, there was something about cars that made her brain short-circuit. "But I have Meta… and you. I don't think it's necessary to actually… you know…" she wasn't able to come up with a good excuse, because there was none other than her not wanting to learn.

Jak leant back in his seat, Daxter perched on top of the driver's seat. "Well, if you want us to go to the temple together, you're going to have to drive part of the way," He said with a sly grin. How low, using her desire for a date to force her to drive a car!

Before she was forced to think up a reply Meta inquired where they were planning to go. When Valentine replied with an image of the temple the Metal head made a gagging sound, expressing her disgust for the place. Her friend then replied with an image of her hanging around Damas, keeping an eye on the nest leader for her.

"Meta's not coming?" Jak asked as the Scout flew towards the city.

"She doesn't like the temple. Can you blame her though? There's no place for her to fly decently in there, and she feels awkward having to walk for long distances," She explained, realizing that no matter what happened, she would have to get behind the wheel of a buggy. She hoped her position as new princess also covered her ass when she managed to wreck the Hopper.

She got in, immediately getting the queasy feeling she was going to mess up in her stomach. Kleiver noticed her sitting there and wobbled up to them. "What's the big idea here then? You guppies have a death wish?"

"Keep out of it, Kleiver," Valentine growled as a warning. Jak and Daxter were safe for her wrath, but that didn't mean anyone else was.

Jak grinned, so far looking very relaxed. "Nothing wrong here, just giving her some driving lessons. Don't worry, I'm there in case things go wrong." Jak's grin was wiped clean of his face when Valentine stepped on the gas for a second, making the car bounce forward. Suddenly he looked a bit worried, grabbing the side of the buggy like Valentine had done on their way back a good while ago.

"Jak, you sure this is a good idea? I left my life insurance back in Haven," Daxter muttered darkly, looking as if he fervently wished for some seat belts.

"We'll be fine," Jak said, once again moving around in his seat when Valentine accidentally slammed the breaks. "Though we'll steer clear of the jump button for now."


	33. The Next Power

|Wasteland|

They were about three seconds out of the garage when Jak started to realize where he had gone wrong with this. He always assumed most people had an innate ability to drive a car, just like they were supposed to have for shooting a gun, since it came so natural to him. And Valentine was so good at building stuff out of nothing, it was natural to think she would get the basic mechanics of how to drive a car.

He didn't remember when the last time had been he feared for his life so much while in a vehicle. And he'd gotten over the freaking Lava Tube with equipment that would be deemed prehistoric in this age! Above them Daxter was doing his utter best not to get thrown off by the erratic movements of constant starting and stopping.

"This is useless!" Valentine complained, taking her hands away from the steering wheel and removing her feet from the pedals. At once the car slowly rolled forward, due to the momentum of the previous outburst. She looked at him with almost a pout, giving off a very frustrated vibe. "Let's be honest. I can't do this, I'm made for different pursuits in life."

Jak had about a second before he had to reply. On the one hand he wanted desperately to get behind the wheel, agree with Valentine and never relive this specific agony again. On the other hand sooner or later his girlfriend would have to learn how to drive a car. Maybe not on a racing level, but certainly just in a casual setting. If anything ever happened to him she might be the one who had to drive. With a deep sigh he made a decision, fearing he was signing his death note. "No. You are going to learn how to drive a buggy, and you're going to drive us to just before we cross the islands with the jump system."

Did he want her to gain confidence? Yes. Did he feel the very pressing need to die by allowing her to use the jump button? Hell no. He had just gotten into this relationship, and he had hoped to get beyond a kiss before he kicked the bucket.

"Are you crazy? Get this woman from behind the wheel before we're blown to smithereens!" Daxter yelled, grabbing tighter onto the car.

"No, she is learning how to drive this thing," Jak replied decisively, pointing a finger alternately at Valentine and Daxter. Valentine let out a chuckle when she saw his stern face. "What?"

She scratched the side of her face, not looking him in the eye. "I might have a thing for authoritative men," She admitted, peeking at him slyly before clearing her throat. "So… uhm… I just press this pedal, right?"

He had to fight to keep a grin of his face when he heard that confession. Instead he focused on the task at hand. "Press it slowly. We're not in a hurry at the moment, so just press it slowly. It's not a race."

Thank every Precursor that had ever existed this wasn't a race. The ride took at least three times longer than he was used to, and he was once again treated to Valentine's very colorful vocabulary. He would have to check up on who had taught her all that. At least this time he wasn't on the receiving end of the exchange. About two heart attacks later they finally reached a place where he could get behind the wheel and soothe her ego.

"If you dare and tell me that went well, I'm calling you a liar." She muttered, getting out of the car as if she were walking on the deck of a ship. He caught her before gravity got the better of her. "I just need a breather. You make it look so easy." She shook her head, leaning on the hood of the car as she mumbled something about never underestimating him again.

"Well… to each his own talents?" he suggested before giving her a quick pinch. With a yelp she shot up, soothing her backside. "Don't go killing the driver now." he joked, getting a grin from her. Within seconds they had switched seats, and he could feel his heart rate drop considerably now he was the one in control again. Next to him both Valentine and Daxter were holding on in preparation for the jumpy bit of the road though not with the tenacity that had been necessary when she had been driving.

"Where do you want to go when we're in the temple?" he asked her, trying to visualize the small part of the temple they had already checked.

"Where the Precursor statue healed us. No, I'm not going back to pester it again," She said when she saw the look Jak threw her. "That's where we saw Seem talking to Count Veger, right? We go back to that spot and try to find a way to get to where they were standing. From there we can investigate." He derided from the expression she had on her face that she was worrying about where the monk had gone. Not that he understood, Seem had given him the cold shoulder every turn they has seen each other. But maybe she got along better with Valentine.

"Great, we can pay another visit to goober-eye," Daxter chimed in, slipping on Valentine's shoulder for the moment. When he saw the way Jak glanced at him he raised his hands. "Look, your girlfriend doesn't have the tendency to get close and personal with enemies for as far as I have seen. I think I'll be safer off with her."

The way Valentine looked at Daxter gave the impression she was considering telling him something that would make him reconsider his current location. Finally she shook her head, giving Jak an apologetic smile. "Guess he's riding with me for the time being. So you get to lead on."

Jak nodded, walking inside the old temple. It was only the second time he walked in here, but once again he found himself awed by the sheer size of the place. Just how much space did they need to worship the Precursors in here? He walked over to the path they had used before, not seeing the way Valentine started to frown behind him. When she touched him by the elbow he could see she seemed to be considering something. "What's wrong?"

She nodded her chin towards the hallway they were nearing. "Metal Heads. I can't say how many, but they're likely to be small. That or some rats have been eating things they weren't supposed to." Right, he'd forgotten how sensitive she was to Dark Eco. He hadn't realized that it could help her detect Metal Heads though.

"Friendlies?" he asked, using a term he had picked up from Vin.

Valentine shook her head without hesitance. "Not likely. Ma'al would have told me if he wanted to move into the temple since he knows how finicky the monks can get. I think it'll be safe to take these guys out."

That was all the information Jak needed. He took out his gun and after a moment of deliberation he handed Valentine the Jetboard Ashelin had brought for him. She looked at it inquiringly, the entire machine fitting in the palm of her hand in its unreleased state. She recognized it and by the look on her face she connected it to Keira. "In case things were to get bad, at least you and Daxter can make a safe escape."

She whacked him on the back of his head. "Idiot. Like I would be going anywhere without you." Without a word she slipped the device back on his belt, smiling sweetly. He knew that kind of smile, though it was usually reserved for girls who were smiling at someone they considered competition. If they ever did get back in Haven –Not that he had any desire to, considering how they had kicked him out-, he might have to break up a cat-fight first thing.

"Oh, don't look at me like that," Valentine said, catching on to his thinking progress rather quick. "I promise that if I ever lay eyes on her again, I'll be a very good girl."   
She made an annoyed sound right after, though that could be because they found out their previous route had been closed off, the temple practically forcing them to take a right turn.

Jak swallowed, but nodded. Never argue with a woman when she's jealous, that was one of the rules he and Daxter had picked up quite early. Not that it was easy to keep a straight face with the way Daxter was contorting his eyes to urge Jak not to disagree with her. "Let's get going then."

Of course it was to be expected she would still have it out for Keira, he mused to himself as they made their way down. Shooting down these little critters had become routine by now, so much that Valentine and Daxter chatted leisurely as Jak led the way. He didn't think Valentine would go out of her way to pick a fight – hoped that she wouldn't – but if Keira made the wrong remark he had an inkling Valentine might be not so forgiving.

"How do these things get in here anyway?" Daxter asked Valentine as she stepped around the body of one of the large, mosquito-like Metals.

"Depends…" Valentine said, her voice clearly indicating she was pondering the how and most importantly, the why. "Could be there's a crack in some of the lower levels, allowing them to get in through there. Or there is something in the Catacombs that allows them free entrance. If there were still more active monks, the temple wouldn't be in this kind of sorry state. Though of course we wouldn't be able to run around here either." She didn't talk about the why, though Jak suspected she had at least one theory. Sometimes it seemed as if the woman never stopped thinking.

"Well, here's one place I recognize," He said. It was the room with the door that had the Mar-seal on it. Daxter seemed to have realized it as well since his eyes immediately hinted that Jak should show Valentine the seal. He shook his head, thankful that at times like these Valentine was easily distracted by oddities in a building. He walked backwards toward the door with the seal on it, very careful to keep an eye on Valentine.

"Tell her," Daxter whispered, having trailed behind Jak.

"No," Jak replied, just as silently. "I'll tell her when I'm ready." Wondering if the sign of Mar on the door was a coincidence or not he took out the pendant, raising it towards the door. It reacted immediately, opening up with a few crunching sounds as if dust was clogging up the gears. Jak had just the time to stow away the amulet before Valentine rushed over to see what was causing the commotion.

She glanced towards the door and then to Jak, eyes narrowed in suspicion. "How'd you get that thing to open up for you."

Daxter raised his eyebrows as well, curious to see how Jak would yank himself out of this one. The hero shrugged, trying to look as if he had nothing to do with the door opening. "Who knows… maybe it has something to do with the time of the year or something."   
That was a flimsy excuse, but he had heard about doors like that when he had been younger. He suddenly realized that in his memory it had been Valentine reading him a bedside story that had been the cue for this information.

She wiggled her nose a bit, glancing between him and the door. "Possible…" she admitted, still not seeming convinced. Jak put an arm around her waist, gently guiding her through the doorway.

"I'm positive of it," He said, trying to convince her. Honestly speaking the memory was a bit disconcerting, though more because of the suddenness of it than because of the contents. He had been there when Valentine had coddled the younger him. Time travel really was a mess for anyone trying to have something of a normal life. Now if Daxter would be content with waiting until he was comfortable coming completely clean with Valentine…

The Ottsel sneezed a few times, thanks to the superfluous amount of dust in this part of the temple. But all in all it was a nice walk, just the three of them, together. He and Valentine were matching their steps, her hand resting loosely on his hip as they walked. As far as days off went, he could certainly get used to this. Maybe next time he'd take her and those students of hers to the oasis for a bit of R&R. Even the small hitch of a stairs having crumbled away wasn't enough to diffuse their mood. He helped her get up first, after which she helped him get up.

"Oh boy, I see another one of those statues up ahead," Daxter announced, peering into the distance. "You know it's never good news when we see one of those. Next thing you know it's going to demand me as a sacrifice."

They walked into the room, looking around leisurely and careful not to step into the circle that had activated the last one. "I can see the place we got cured over there," Valentine said, pointing to the side. On closer examination it seemed like the two statues were connected at their backs, a third one pointed at another balcony.

"Well, let's see if this one is a talker," Jak said, motioning Valentine to step into the circle with him. As soon as they did the statue started talking, light pouring from half-lidded eyes.

"We meet again, great warriors. Though I fear your coming may sadly be too late. You will soon meet the seed of our downfall." Next to Jak Valentine was mouthing the words of the statue, the glow in her eyes indicating she at least understood that part of the message. "It approaches quickly, and I fear we no longer have the power to resist. Behold the pure power of light."

After those words the two of them were once again hit with a shot of Light Eco. Though the feeling was immensely good he would like a bit more preparation time before the statue did that. At least this time he and Valentine didn't need the cooling down time from no longer feeling any pain.

The two of them stared awkwardly at each other for a moment, checking to see if either felt anything different. "Well?" he asked Valentine, who turned around in place.

"I've got nothing. Well… actually…" she frowned. "I think I can sense the Light Eco coming from you a little bit. Though that may be just my imagination." She crossed her arms over one another, shaking her head as she was thinking. "Well, you have some enhanced healing powers from last time." That had been proven when he had cut himself on some rocks the night before, the wounds had zipped closed within seconds. "But I doubt they think sensing Light Eco is this huge deal."

The light in the eyes of the statue started to shine again. "How dense the both of you are. We give you great power and you do not realize to what extent it may aid you?"

"Well, maybe you should include a little manual with your powers next time," Daxter suggested loudly. "Since not all of us can read minds, you hunk o' junk!"

The statue answered by shooting out a beam of pure light. "Daxter!" Jak shouted, running for his best friend on instinct. He knew he wouldn't be on time to save him, but yet he willed himself to go faster.

Faster.

Suddenly he stumbled, looking around him. It looked as if the beam was frozen in the air, still heading for a screaming Daxter. Valentine was frozen in place as well, her long hair trailing out behind her as she too had started to move for Daxter. Well this was… strange. He decided to get Daxter out of the way of the beam first, not knowing how long this would last.

Once he that was done he was still stuck in this weird mode. Either time had slowed down, or he had gotten faster than usual. Taking a look to the side he noted how the spinning discs that had been spinning so fast now formed a sort of stairway, straight up to the balcony they had seen Seem at the last time they had been here.

'No time to waste…' he thought to himself. He placed Daxter against Valentine's stomach – it was strange how the Ottsel kept floating in the air when he released him – before picking her up. Her body was rather stiff, as if it didn't bend all that well in this state. He kept her pressed against him firmly, running and jumping over the improvised steps. Not a second too soon he reached the other side, feeling more faint than before as the discs behind them started spinning once more.

"DAXTER!" Valentine yelled, flinching in his arms. She was joined by a shrill screech from the fur ball resting against her stomach. Then the duo did a double take, looking around them as if they were seeing the place for the first time.

"Jak… what happened?" she asked him, looking up at him with dark blue eyes.

He tried to explain to her, but it was harder than it looked considering he had no idea either. After he finished talking about it, she nodded pensively. "Temporal manipulation…" she mumbled, tapping her fingers against her chin. She stroked a finger against his goatee, before giving him a firm kiss. "Well, let's be happy you're pretty quick on controlling new powers."

"I don't know, what about you?" Daxter asked, still lying on her stomach. "If our boy here gets all of the primo powers, why don't you?"

Valentine scrunched her nose. It was utterly fascinating how many different facial expressions she had just for thinking alone. "Beats me. I know I got some power out of it this time, since the feeling of Light Eco got a lot fainter coming from you," she said to Jak. "I think you're out of juice, big boy."

He put her down, hands lingering a few seconds longer than absolutely. This was turning into a bigger adventure than he had thought. And why was Valentine holding the flask that had been hanging on her belt a few seconds ago with such a big smile on her face?


	34. Cars, Wounds and Robots

|The Temple|

Valentine fought desperately to keep the smirk off her face when Jak gagged once again as they went down the Precursor elevator. She had never thought Seem's potion would come in handy for getting Light Eco levels in order, and Jak had been a not so grateful guinea pig. Not that she needed a reminder of the taste, which was the reason she had avoided the kiss he had tried to plant on her as revenge. She let out a quick chuckle as Jak shuddered. "I'm sorry, but your face was just soooo…mfffphahaha," she burst out in laughter, doubling over.

Daxter would have done the same when reminded of that particular look on the hero's face if it hadn't been for Jak eying him to see his reaction. Valentine wiped a tear from the corner of her eyes, standing up straight taking a big breath. Honestly speaking it had been his own fault. She didn't know what it was but he was keeping a secret from her. And as far as she had been able to deduce it had something to do with Mar's artifacts. Why else would he be so fidgety every time they came near that specific door?

Jak's face lit up immediately when they reached the lower platform. "Ah, this looks like something more my speed."

She followed his gaze, eyes landing on what looked like a vehicle before suppressing a moan. Cars, always cars. When would there be something that required something more of her skills, like hack a computer or something? They stopped near it, looking around them. "Looks like a garage of sorts," She mumbled. This had been the way that Seem and Veger had walked off to, and she didn't think they had missed any sudden corridors.

"It looks a bit like the Catacombs we saw back in Haven, when the Metal Heads there destroyed the palace," Daxter said, scratching behind one of his ears.

Valentine clicked her tongue at that remark. "Veger wanted the Catacombs for something as well." And he had for some reason involved Seem in his plans. But for what reason? "That path led nowhere different than this place… so did they use the car?" And where did the path lead? The further they went the more confusing this entire thing got.

Jak sat down in the car. She could see him running something in his hands along the dashboard, starting it with a slight hum. Now she was sure she had seen something! But why didn't he want to tell her what was going on? Ugh… even more questions that needed answering and she didn't have all the variables.

The trio jumped up in surprise when the communicators started beeping. "Hello?" she answered awkwardly.

"Valentine, where the hell are you?" That was Damas' voice, and he didn't sound happy.

"Underneath the temple, father. Me, Jak and Daxter were just exploring a little bit," She said, trying to sound as if there was no possible way she could get hurt. Well, Jak was here so she pitied anyone who would actually try it.

She heard a sigh that sent so much static through the line she was surprised the speakers didn't bust. It was a small miracle they even had reception down here, seeing as how far down the elevator had went. "You are not supposed to be down there. I have a Metal King that's sick as a Crocodog in my city, the entire Council that wanted to see how much you know about Spargus law and your students are running wild in the streets."

Valentine doubted it was that bad. Though there was always a possibility the hatchlings had knocked over a few stalls, but that was hardly 'running wild'. "But I had a day off and…" she doubted for a moment if she should inform Damas about the situation between her and Jak. They were pretty much safe from any concerned father attack down here.

"And nothing! Get back up here," Damas commanded her.

Valentine had been standing next to the elevator the entire time and she feared she had some pretty bad news for her adopted father. "Well… I think the elevator is busted," She said, holding the communicator away from her ear. Jak and Daxter could hear the entire conversation from a distance the way Damas was shouting.

"What do you mean, the elevator is busted? Young lady, if you're telling me you can't be bothered to walk a few stairs-"

"There aren't any stairs," She interrupted, before handing Jak the communicator. Actually she pretty much threw it at him, but she couldn't bear any more bombardments on her eardrums. If there had been stairs it would have taken them months before they got back up either way. "Looks like it's the car," She commented to Daxter. Behind them Damas seemed to be a lot calmer talking to Jak than to her.

"Yeah well, it should at least make the boy here happy," Daxter replied with a grin as he pointed to Jak. "You know cars are his thing."

She nodded, before Jak tapped them on the shoulder. "Damas says that if we really can't get back the normal way, we proceed and see where we end up. Also, he wants to inform you that you have a curfew."

Valentine sputtered. "A what?"

"I'm fairly sure it was a joke… kinda," Jak said, sounding like he wasn't sure at all. "Are you guys getting in or what? Let's see what this puppy can do!"

|Later|

Five minutes later they were almost out of the insane Precursor track, and having one small problem. "Uhm, guys?" Jak yelled above the noise of the car.

"What?" Valentine shouted back, digging her nails in the seat while Daxter clung to her neck for dear life. It couldn't possibly be worse than this thing not having seat belts. What did people have against seat belts?

"I can't really find a brake on this thing!" Jak's reply sent her stomach in rapid whirls. What did he mean, there weren't any breaks?

"You're sure?" Daxter yelled, his nails digging in Valentine's skin.

"Positive. We're going to have to jump!" Jak yelled, reaching out a hand for Valentine's arm, holding on to the steering wheel with his other hand.

Valentine swallowed. "I don't suppose-" Her sentence was cut off by Jak suddenly standing up, using the momentum to pull both her and Daxter out of the riding vehicle. She screamed, landing on the ground with a painful thud, both Jak and Daxter landing partly on top of her. "… we have any time to prepare?" she finished her sentence. Yep, that felt like a new bruise. She watched as a cut across Jak's neck zipped close with Light Eco. Lucky bastard.

Daxter was the first one to recover, scurrying across the ground to look for an exit. When Jak helped her up she flinched. Placing a hand where she thought there would be a bruise there was some moisture to be found. 'Great, I'm bleeding.' She thought to herself, not happy with the idea that she was weakened.

"Something wrong?" Jak asked her. She shook her head, smiling. The pain didn't feel that bad, it just had a bit of a stinging sensation. He frowned at her and before she could protest he turned her around, examining her thigh. "You're bleeding," He stated, making her roll her eyes. Thanks Captain Obvious.

"How does it look?" she asked, not able to see that specific spot without some mirrors around.

"There's blood but not that much. Can you walk?" he nodded when she demonstrated she could walk just fine, but Jak kept the concerned frown on his face. "Well, it'll do for now. Just don't go kicking stuff," He warned her as they walked towards the elevator.

She walked as fluently as she could in an attempt not to make Jak worry too much. She didn't actually feel any blood – that was what she told herself – so the wound couldn't be that big. And she had no problem getting around so that was good for her. Riding up on the elevator she supported herself on her good leg. If only she could see the damn wound, or if Jak would be able to get a decent look at it without her having to take of her pants.

"Whoa, check out this place!" Daxter said, climbing back to Jak after noticing Valentine's wound.

Jak whistled as he checked around. "Looks like some kind of Eco mine."

Valentine nodded, pleased he had picked up on that. "When Mar built Haven City, he carved out these rocks to get to the raw Eco power." She looked around the abandoned mine. "Even before Praxis took over there wasn't enough Eco left to warrant a standing force here."

"That Mar guy never must have slept much, right?" Daxter commented with a not so impressed snort. "I mean, he built the city, he built the mines, he built that big-ass grave for himself. Is there something he didn't do?"

Valentine smirked. "Well, now that you mention it... Mar didn't do all of it himself. According to the stories my mom told me the Ashanti family was around at that time as well. My family functioned as bodyguards for the Mar family back then, and it's said we helped out with the practical side of things." She had been named after one of Mar's personal attendants back then, a woman who had helped with the design of the Eco grid in Haven.

"This means we're actually closer to Haven, doesn't it?" Jak asked her. The two of them looked up at the sky, to the setting sun. She nodded, amazed at how fast the Precursor vehicle must have been to get them here in this amount of time.

"Maybe we should get a move on," She suggested, looking around her. Apart from some standard pests there wasn't anything really dangerous around here but one could never be sure. "I'd prefer not getting caught here after dark."

Jak nodded when she pointed that out, already having spotted several specimens of the local wildlife ready to attack them. "That looks like the way to go," He said, nodding his head to the big gate at the end of the mine. They made their way to it fairly easily – though Valentine never failed to be impressed with how good of a shot Jak was.

They stopped at the gate, which failed to open for them. "Now what?" Daxter asked, waving his hands towards the contraption as if it had somehow insulted him personally.

Valentine let out a sigh of relief. "Now I can do something useful for a change.Watch and learn boys," She said, placing a hand against the gate and closing her eyes. She could feel the surge of Eco in the gate, following it to determine how it flowed. Though the lock was infinitely more simple than hacking into the security of a research facility the flow of Eco had subsided remarkably. She gritted her teeth, forcing the Eco to obey to her will.

Creaking the gate started to roll open, slowly, as if it wanted to show that it only did this reluctantly. Jak supported her when she withdrew her hand from the gate, feeling a bit woozy. She brought a hand to her cheek, pinching it. "I'm fine… just took more out of me than I expected." She hadn't tried the trick ever since they had received the Light Eco. Perhaps that was the reason it didn't work as well?

She allowed Jak to guide her towards the elevator, reassuring Daxter she would be fine in a moment. "It's just that there was so little Eco in the door left," She finally allowed.

"You did great, so stop worrying about it," Jak told her, backed up by Daxter as they rode the elevator down.

"Yeah hon', you really should be less hard on yourself. Even our boy here doesn't always do everything perfect. Just look at how long it took him to ask you out," Daxter added, pressing a padded paw against her cheek for a moment.

"The monks told me you were coming through the Precursor sub-rails," A stern voice announced as they walked into a rough hall carved of stone. The trio directed their gaze towards the new arrival, surprised at hearing someone else than themselves in this remote area. "Interesting, aren't they? The Precursors used them eons ago to build the world. "

That last bit was enough for Valentine to dislike Veger, for as far as she had given him a faint benefit of the doubt. Anyone who thought that death trap was interesting was trouble. Unless he had breaks on his vehicle which would make him more the focus of some envy.

Veger continued his speech, ignoring the hostile glares Jak was sending his way. "The rail system leads deep into this planet where it's said the ancient ones wait to bestow unimaginable powers upon the worthy. I will save the world with that power, just as Mar did." He played with the staff he had in his hands, looking at it as if it were a loved one.

Was he talking about the 'upgrades' she and Jak had gotten recently? Because she didn't remember using those sub-rails to be brought into contact with the Precursor messengers. Probably not. She was more worried about the fact he had said the monks had warned him. This meant that Seem most definitely would know what was going on. The thought made her cringe a bit.

"You've done a great job so far, letting the Metal Heads destroy the palace and everything," Jak commented, having kept his tongue in check long enough.

"Oh, you couldn't be more mistaken, dear boy," Veger said, the amusement clearly audible in the rumble of his voice. He turned around, suddenly seeming more pressed.   
"We're on a time clock, children. That light in the sky, do you know what it is? Our nightmare has found us and the end is coming." Valentine didn't know what kind of nightmares Veger entertained, but hers had always more revolved around Praxis, Erol and the dungeons beneath the palace. Only the thought was capable of making her feel more cold in an instant.

"I needed quick access to the Catacombs below, so I attacked the palace myself," Veger said as if he were explaining 'one plus one' to a pair of schoolchildren. "It will be our little secret, I trust."

"Well, you're full of surprises," Jak said, taken aback at the brazen confession. His hand tightened the grip he had at her waist, making sure she wouldn't rashly attack Veger when he felt her tense up. Why shouldn't she attack him? She had heard of the destruction that attack had caused to her home town. For all they knew little Mar could have gotten hurt in that attack!

Veger's expression darkened. "And you're full of Dark Eco!" he snapped to them. Now that was the way to tick both of the two infected people off. "You two and the rat are an abomination." Rude much? She could feel how Jak slightly twitched, his hand reaching towards his gun. "But I will rid the planet of your scourge before long! Pure light will rule the universe, and I will be the bright light that shines to every corner of the world and destroys all shadows!"

"Uhm, excuse me, count Vulgar?" Daxter asked, raising his hand.

"It's Veger!" the count snapped back.

"Yeah, whatever," Daxter said, earning an appreciative nod from his best friend. "Isn't it kinda nice to curl up in the shade sometimes? Just chilling it…" Daxter said, jumping down from Jak's shoulder as he described the view, using his hands to shape a better picture. "… watching the hot babes prance around in their skimpy little bikinis. You know, just how they jiggle. I get this special tingling feeling in my tail then."

"Excuse me?" Valentine blurted out, temporarily distracted from the insulting villain.

Daxter chuckled. "Don't worry hon', I'm sure you'll be giving Jak all sorts of tingling feelings in his tail, if you know what I mean."

"What?" Jak gasped, nearly choking on embarrassment as Valentine started to sputter she didn't own a bikini.

"Again, no problem. We'll see if there are some shops that aren't completely destroyed and you can go shopping. I'm sure Jak won't-"

"Enough!" Veger finally burst out, stopping the entire conversation that had gone horribly off track. "We will start the cleansing of the world with your demise!" he held up his staff, red light flaring from it in strong waves. "Behold! I now command the very power of the ancient ones! And this time the Precursors will not have mercy on you."

They backed away when a Precursor robot burst from the wall. They had not seen this one coming. It focused on them, leaving Veger to slip out of a back door. The mental litany that contained several swear words raced through Valentine's head. Why were they always the ones who ended up having to deal with this stuff? At least this explained where all the Eco had gone to; the thing practically burst with energy.

As it pulled out a red energy beam Valentine glanced over to Jak. "Any ideas?" she asked him. The big bad guys were his department after all.

"Shoot it until it stops moving?" he suggested.

That might work for him, but she hadn't exactly brought a gun along for something that had started out as a date. "I guess?" she replied, having trouble to whip up a solution for a Precursor robot that appeared to be pretty sentient. Not to mention her thigh was hurting more than it had before that, so there was a big chance she wouldn't last through a lot more jumping.

Daxter jumped towards her, pulling her behind a small rock. "Just think of something, Jak will keep it busy," He told her.

Valentine let her eyes race through the room. She doubted the actual 'shoot until movement ceases' tactic would work, since Precursor steel was the strongest metal known on the planet. Oh, think, think, think! Jak seemed to be holding up fine for now, but… she had to tear her eyes away from him. The best way she could help him now was find out how to beat that thing.

Suddenly her eyes trailed upward. "Daxter, are you seeing what I'm seeing?" she asked him.

"I'm seeing an old cart filled to the brim with explosives, but… oh… oooooh." He started to catch on to her plan.

"Jak!" she shouted, hoping she wouldn't distract him too much. "Shoot the cart up there!" she said. She narrowly dodged a shot aimed for her.

"What?" he yelled back, not able to hear her over the gun. She moaned, before picking Daxter up and flinging him to the hero. She was fairly confident Jak would be able to catch him.

She stood up taking a deep breath. "Hey, hunk o' junk!" she shouted, borrowing Daxter's previous phrase. The machine stopped attacking Jak, turning to her. She ignored every survival instinct she had that told her to run. "That's right, why don't you try attacking me?" she continued, mentally praying for Jak to finally get that cart to drop down on the robot.

It obeyed her orders, taking a shot at her. She jumped back, the rocky floor pulverized, leaving puffs of smoke trailing up. "Jak, if you don't hurry you're going to have a pile of ashes for a date!" she half-joked and half-urged him. She tried her best to perhaps stop the Eco in the robot itself, but she hadn't actually manipulated Eco without touching the casing first. Before she had to try the cart above the robot was shot loose, dropping down on the thing with a big explosion. Heat, rock and remnants of robot flew around the room, showering down on them without too much damage.

Jak walked up to her, a cocky grin plastered on his face. "Don't tell me you were worrying there?"

She let out a deep breath, trying to get her heart to stop from beating so fast. "I wouldn't call it worried. More something along the lines of evaluating past life choices in a movie-esque state."

"Oh yeah, the boys are back in town!" Daxter shouted, working off some adrenaline.

Jak grinned, picking up a piece of robot to examine closer. "Let's go top-side and see what kind of trouble we can get into," He suggested, sounding as if this had been an everyday occurrence.

Valentine let herself drop to her back. She'd almost forgotten what it was like running with these two. "Guys… let me catch my breath first, okay?"


	35. Dear Haven

|Haven City|

After having gotten her five minutes of rest Valentine let herself be hauled up by a willing Jak. Thanks to the exploding robot Veger's exit way had been closed off, leaving them to search for another way out. A few minutes of clearing rubble revealed another elevator leading up. Judging from the amount of discarded helmets and other implements this had been a service elevator in times when the mine was still producing Eco.

"You okay there, honey? You look kind of upset." Daxter commented to her, before he suddenly got a huge grin on his face. "And you also have a small wardrobe malfunction."

Valentine glanced down towards her pants, seeing that the leather was slowly ripping. At least the rip was going down and not up, or the guys would have gotten a lot more chuckles out of the situation. "I'm upset because Veger thought that blowing up half Haven was worth it for 'quick access to the Catacombs." She started to grind her teeth as she thought it over. "What exactly gave that religious nut the authority to do that?"

"The same coots that got us kicked out of the city," Jak commented, patting her on the shoulder. "We'll get to Veger soon enough, Val. Let's take it easy for now, and just get to Torn and the others."

She raised a corner of her mouth at the new nickname. "Val?" she asked him, a twinkle of pleasure in her eyes.

He coughed as the elevator stopped. "Well… I wanted to give you a pet name, but all of Daxter's suggestions were…" Valentine barely suppressed a fit of laughter. If Jak ever called her 'schnookums' or something equally sugary she would probably die from trying not to have a serious giggle fit.

"Val sounds nice," She conceded, feeling giddy. She was happy Jak had given it some thought.

"There is nothing wrong with the pet names me and Tess have for each other," Daxter pointed out, sounding slightly snubbed. Jak rolled his eyes at that. The constant sweetness between those two had been liable to give him tooth aches if he had listened for long enough.

The casual banter between the three was cut off when the elevators opened. Even Jak had to swallow seeing the mess, and he had been here when the Palace fell. For a moment he thought Valentine would faint seeing what had happened to her beloved Haven. "Th- this…" she blinked, not able to get out a word.

"Deep breaths," Daxter reminded her. She followed the advice, trying to make sure that she kept the oxygen going to her brain. Precursors knew that that organ could use every bit of help that was available. Small Scorpion Metals scurried away at their presence, though one or two cast them a thoughtful glance.

Valentine did what Ma'al had told her to do if a Metal ever happened to challenge her. _"Send them a mental image of who you are, and how much stronger you are. In your case they should submit to your authority."_ With a sudden squeak the stragglers followed after the others.

They walked through the empty street, past rubble and eerie open doors clapping in the wind.An icy chill ran down her spine, as if countless of eyes watched them as they moved through the remnants of what used to be a nice street to live in. She rubbed her arms, looking around to see if there was anything looking at them. This was the first time she saw Haven so… empty.

"The place looks as bad as my old bedroom back home," Daxter commented, looking around. Valentine let out a short snort at that comment. His sleeping place back at her old home hadn't been that much better.

Suddenly a vaguely familiar voice called out to them. "Jak, over here!" As they turned to look they could see Samos waiting for them behind a screen, preventing them from following what had seemed like the only way ahead. Valentine frowned when she saw the Green Sage. Was it her, or did he look like he had aged more than the years she had been gone accounted for?

"Samos! Keira!" Jak called out, before remembering that shouting out Keira's name so loud wasn't a good idea around Valentine. When she heard she had flinched a little bit, before pulling up the corner of her mouth as if she was mocking herself. What had she been expecting, that he would just forget any relation he had had to the other woman? They had been friends at some point in their lives as well. Still, it stung… just a little.

As a way to show her that he knew that had hurt her, Jak placed a hand on her shoulder, pulling her close to him. The gentle squeeze on her shoulder was all she needed to be reminded that he was in fact her boyfriend now.  
"Ah, Samos. Still as green as the stuff between my toes," Daxter commented in what was his way of showing he was happy to see the Sage.

"See Keira? I told you I could sense Jak's energy." As the sage looked at Valentine she gave the man an appreciating nod, eyes glancing at Keira as she did so. Hell did she look like a ticked off cat at the moment! She took a shallow breath, happy that Jak had her back at the moment. "My boy, it's good to see you again. And of course young Valentine. You're looking better than I remember, the both of you!"

Jak pulled Valentine closer when he caught Keira's eyes as well. "A lot happened. But we are in fact feeling better."

We. Strange that two letters could create a warm feeling in her belly.

"I'm sorry to burst into business like this, but the city will need your help again," Samos started, eyes glancing between the two women on the scene. Did he look just a little bit relieved there was a shield between them at the moment? "Whatever is underneath the city, it is important. Both the KG and the Metal Heads are trying to get at it first, so we have to know what it is."

"So, the city needs us again. What else is new?" Jak asked, sounding just a little bit too cocky for her tastes. She knew he had been kicked out, but there was a limit at that sort of behavior. She pinched him, very discreetly of course, making him narrow his eyes. He sent her a warning look.

"Veger has turned on the force field here," Samos informed them, seemingly determined to ignore the exchange between the heroes.

"Veger is the one who attacked the Palace!" Valentine blurted out, not able to keep quiet when she heard the man's name. "The idiot wanted a quick way to get to the Catacombs."

"Well, you're just going to have to find it before he does, whatever it is," Samos told them. "But before you three get into that mad scramble, try making your way towards us first. There's a way into the sewers just over there, you should be able to get to the port and Torn from here. Then find a way north to reach us."

Valentine scrunched her nose. Of course they would be going through the sewers. And here she had been hoping to never have to smell that specific bouquet again. "Now young lady, you've been through worse than an odd smell in your life," Samos chastised her. "Woman up and support Jak here. I have an inkling the Metal Heads may have infiltrated the sewer in your absence. Well, more than they had at the moment you left any way."

Valentine smiled at that. "Yes, sir," She replied, sounding highly amused with the order. It had been a while since Samos had told her what to do.

"Jak…" Keira started, before she paused hesitantly. "Could we… talk?"

Valentine could see him looking between the two of them, feeling how he tensed up. She bit her tongue, not believing her own words. "Talk," She muttered to him. When he seemed to be taken aback by her reaction, she pointed with her chin towards her former rival. "Before I come to my senses, please."

She and Daxter moved away, just a little further where they could talk with Samos. She reminded herself that eavesdropping was a big no-no, no matter how much she wanted to know what they were discussing. "You grind your teeth anymore and you're going to break a tooth," Daxter warned her.

Valentine broke off the behavior with a popping sound, glaring at both Samos and Daxter. What, she couldn't be little bit jealous about Jak talking to his ex? "I don't want to hear a peep out of either of you," she warned them as she crossed her arms over one another.

She was surprised by Jak pressing a warm kiss on her cheek, hands slipping around her waist. "Wha-" she started to ask, before she was cut off by a quick kiss. Samos coughed, averting his eyes from the sudden scene.

Jak beamed at her, before he let her go. "Don't worry," He whispered in her ear.

She grimaced, but the gnawing feeling in her stomach had been lifted a little bit. "Then shall we be going?" she suggested.

"Run along, you three," Samos said, waving his hands in an attempt to shoo them.

With a few extra words they left Samos – and Keira – behind them. Before she could succumb to her curiosity – it was in her nature to want to know everything – Jak already told her. "She wanted to say she was sorry about how things went." Valentine and Daxter both threw him an incredulous glance. He raised his hands in defense. "That's what she said. Though I won't be counting on her apologizing to you directly."

She huffed at that. As if she had ever entertained any thought about her and Keira having a pleasant conversation. Something between them rubbed the wrong way, and it wasn't just Jak or being infected with Eco. But any thought about how she felt about Jak's former girlfriend was soon wiped from her mind when she was once again confronted by the not so badly missed odors of the sewer. Just lovely.

|Two Hours Later|

"Next date, let's plan things ahead," Valentine suggested, trying to check the damage on her pants. It didn't seem like it had gotten worse, but she doubted sewage water in an open wound was a very good idea.

Jak scrunched his face. "Sorry. I didn't think we'd get this far from home though."

She waved a hand, taking a deep breath. "It's okay. I mean, we have been through worse." She smiled, trying to ignore the fact that they now all smelled of sewage water. "And I am happy that you knocked that one Metal off his feet for me."

Ma'als mind trick only seemed to work on the less intelligent Metals that could be fooled into thinking she was in fact a Metal King. Anything that was intelligent enough to register she didn't look like a King but did possess Eco had a very distinctive 'attack' reaction. "Want me to make it up to you by driving a Zoomer?" she asked, half-jesting and half-serious. Now that Jak had made it clear he wanted her to learn this skill, she thought maybe she could put in a little effort.

"NO!" Daxter yelled, far more emphatic than he had been in any Metal attack in the sewers. "I uh, I meant… no, I'm not gonna lie about this one, I'd rather go back in the sewers than get on a Zoomer driven by you."

Jak shrugged, not keeping his relief much of a secret. "Well, if that is what Daxter thinks." He said, his mouth slightly quivering with amusement. "I think I'll be driving today. You don't mind too much, do you?"

Valentine shook her head. "You can drive." She noted how relieved she sounded herself. "Though I think we're standing out a little bit." She looked around her, seeing how several people were looking at them and not bothering to hide it. Some of them looked a bit angry, others just gave off a very suspicious vibe. "You'd think people have never seen Wastelanders emerge from a sewer before. Well, we are dressed like this," She said when she noticed how the guys were looking at her.

Jak patted the back seat, looking less impressed with the gawking. "Well, we are celebrities now. Or some sort of hooligans, depending on who you're talking to."

"Yeah, people used to give our boy a hard time about him losing you. And then there were the Metal Heads, and the new KG. Things were baaaaad!" Daxter exclaimed, comfortable hanging from Jak's shoulder.

As the Zoomer lifted Valentine realized she had missed the old days more than she realized. The nostalgic feeling of going around Haven, no matter how battered the city was, together with Jak and Daxter was a very nice sensation. It wasn't far to the former Hip Hog Haven, though Valentine was surprised at seeing the giant Ottsel on top of the entrance. "Impressed, aren't ya?" Daxter asked, nodding his head in a 'I know I rule' way.

"It certainly isn't what I was expecting," She replied diplomatically. How had he ever gotten permission for that thing? She stepped off the Zoomer, nearly tripping over her own feet as she stared up to the giant Ottsel shining in the starting dusk.

Jak placed his hands on her elbows, steering her towards the entrance. "Let's go say hi to Torn," He suggested, making sure she didn't bump into the heavy in and out traffic of the former bar. "I'm sure he's been dying to know how we're doing."

Valentine shook her head, clearing the thought about Daxter's 'baby' as he referred to it, out of her mind. When the doors swooshed open she could see Torn standing bent over a table in the smack middle of the room. "TORN!" she shouted, running towards the man.

"Valentine? How did you- ugh!" With a grunt he was smacked against the ground by an over-eager Valentine, who nearly choked him in a hug. "Let go of me!" he ordered, struggling against her death grip. "Precursors be damned, Valentine!"

"Honey, we're home.-," Daxter announced a bit belatedly.

"I never thought I'd see any of you again." Torn said from the ground, eyebrows twitching as he tried to ignore how he was pinned beneath Valentine. "Either you get your hands off me now, or I'll have you scrubbing the toilets for the next week. You smell like you've been rolling around in a sewer."

Valentine frowned, letting go with such an air of extreme reluctance even Torn seemed to be feeling a bit guilty about forcing her away. One look at the snickering onlookers was enough to bring his usual scowl back. "Listen, I'm sorry we couldn't stop Count Veger. We all are," Torn said, apologizing to Jak.

"We just saw Veger," Jak informed his former employer, pursing his lips ever so slightly when he had seen how Torn had been greeted. He himself had to worry for his life before they had made up, but Torn got knocked to the ground in a hug. Pfeh. "He's trying to get his hands on some Precursor technology, but we have no idea what.

"Figures. That guy always was one monk short from a choir," Torn said, taking some distance from the newly arrived trio. They couldn't smell that bad, right?   
"But we have bigger problems now. Veger sent me on a suicide attack on the port, which is why we're cut off now. Freedom HQ needs us, but we have no way of getting back there. Our forces are divided, and we are losing ground on all fronts."

Valentine shrugged. "Okay, so you need us to help out. What do you need done? And stop looking like you're going to puke, it's not that bad."

"It's bringing back memories about the old headquarters, that's one thing," Torn mumbled, refusing to pinch his nose like the rest of the people around them. "I'd appreciate it if you took a look at the communication system, since it's been lagging like crazy. On top of that we need someone to help guide a rocket through the defense gates the robots have set up."

"Well, that sounds like a job for Val," Jak said, gesturing towards her. She nodded, happy she could be of some use again.

"Communication system, maybe. But the rocket has been stripped of pretty much everything except the detonation system, and we don't have the materials to install a guiding system. Which is why I need someone small to bring it to the detonating point," Torn explained, throwing a pointed look towards Daxter.  
"But before you three even thing about mingling with the other soldiers, you are getting a shower first." The man looked positively green at the moment.

"Are you sure?" Valentine asked. "Rigging up the communication system should be easy enough, I can quickly-"

"Showers. Now," Torn snarled, pointing a thumb backwards. Daxter let out a moan when he saw it, wondering about what other horrors Torn had inflicted about his sweet bar.

Valentine was about to protest when Jak swung her over his shoulder without too much ceremony. "No, wait Jak! There's technology here! Let me play with it, please! I'm begging here."

"First we are going to look at that wound on your leg," He informed her, ignoring her pleas to get her hands on some decent hardware. "Once we're clean you can go messing around with anything you can get your hands on."

Now that was interesting. Happy the guys couldn't see her grin she wondered if Jak really meant she could mess with anything she got her hands on. Behind them she could see how Torn yelled at the others in the former bar. "What's so damn funny? Anyone with a message that wasn't due three hours ago leave!" He turned towards the disappearing three before they got away completely. "There's a bunch of clothes in the closet to your left, bunks are down the stairs like the old HQ."

Valentine saluted him from Jak's shoulder, happy her boy had enough muscle to make it a not too painful ride. She actually felt a bit sorry when he put her down, seeing as how it was a rather fun way of transport. They opened up the closet, greeted by the typical disarray that ensued when people didn't give two damns about how clothes ended up when casually tossed in a pile. "Well, this kind of looks like your size..." she mumbled, looking at a faint blue shirt. With relief she spotted a washer hidden underneath a pile of junk. "Though we could just look for sleeping clothes if that thing still works."

When both of them had found a sleeping attire that wasn't threadbare they headed towards the showers. Daxter had gone ahead, seeing as how he had no need for actual clothing - nor was there a pair of pants in there that would have fitted him. "Welcome, to the paradise of fungus!" He shouted at them from one of the stalls at the end.

Valentine and Jak both made a 'bleh' face at the same time, wishing Daxter could have been a bit less repulsive with his word choice. "Aaaah, army style showers," Valentine announced, happy they had at least taken the time to install some flimsy boards between each shower. They probably had the late hour to thank for the desertion, and Torn for just now having kicked out most messengers. "One of the many reasons I decided I couldn't keep living down at HQ back in the day."

She walked over to the last stall on the right, with Jak taking the one next to her. "What were the other reasons?" he asked her as they turned the water on. Daxter was singing, very off-cue, about a plate of pasta beneath the full moon.

"Lack of privacy being the main reason," Valentine admitted, letting out a relieved sigh when the water hit her. Maybe taking a shower before fiddling with stuff around here was indeed the better course of action. Though the hot water stung like a bitch when it reached the wound on the back of her thigh. "Be glad you were never forced to sleep in those bunk beds in there, I swear there was someone returning from a mission every five minutes when I was trying to get some sleep. And I didn't play too well with others either. Not to mention the fact that I'd manage to scar Torn gave everyone the heebie-jeebies."

"Where did you hit him?" Jak asked, sounding curious and at the same time extremely happy to be able to take a shower as well. Spargus sand really did manage to get everywhere, and even a trip through the sewers hadn't been able to rinse it all out.

"A place he won't be showing in public," Valentine replied with a slight chuckle. It shouldn't be that funny, but it was the only time she had seen Torn go so wide-eyed. Luckily she hadn't done any permanent damage, or Ashelin would be demanding her hide by now. "Daxter, could you pass the soap?" she called out.

The soap slid through Jak's booth, landing next to her feet. "Thank you!"

"You guys mind if I slip out of for a while? I wanna go check up on Tess," Daxter shouted to them, before they could hear wet sounds indicating he was jumping up and down to get up the slippery walls to turn of the shower. Valentine closed her eyes, tracing the Eco through the pipes and shutting down his shower. At the same time she slightly heated hers up more. This trick really did have advantages.

"Why would we stop you?" Jak asked, accepting the soap Valentine slid towards him, with considerable less orange hair on it then when she'd received it from Daxter.

She listened how Daxter answered, though most of his answer was now about how wonderful Tess was. Valentine let out a faint smile when she heard the Ottsel gush about his loved one, ignoring the definite stinging of her thigh. Maybe she should ask Jak to take a look at it, just to make sure there wasn't anything too serious going on. With a sudden blush she realized he was in the shower next to her. She had to bite a finger to suppress a sudden squeal, as well as the urge to sneak a peek. She was a lady - kind of - and that kind of behavior would be unacceptable. She pressed her lips together in an excited smile, turning her shower off.

"Done?" Jak asked her, sounding as if he had just stuck his head underneath the stream of water.

Keeping as calm as possible with her heart beating twice as fast as normal she started to pat herself down. "Yeah. Rosy fresh is kind of impossible considering the equipment we have here." Back in Spargus she had scented oils and perfumes, small presents from Damos and the Council who wanted her to be as ladylike as possible. She found herself wishing for just one bottle right now, instead of smelling like neutral soap. "Would you... mind taking a look at that cut on my leg?" she asked, trying to make the request sound innocent. Sure she had a flash of an indecent plan earlier, but it wasn't like she would be able to go through with it.

It took Jak a while to respond, bringing out a muffled 'sure'. She wondered what he had been thinking, to make that answer take so long. She picked up the shirt that was just a bit too big and the gray shorts that stopped neatly above the cut. Well, at least she wouldn't have to get undressed just so he could have a look. At that thought she had to bite her tongue again. 'Get a grip, woman!' she reprimanded herself, trying to ignore the sound of Jak getting dressed.

"Let's have a look then," he said, getting out from his stall. His hair was already well on it's way of defying gravity once more, even when still damp from the shower. She also noted that he was not wearing a shirt but only the long dark green trousers they'd found in the dressing room.

Oh great gods of awkwardness, she would have to bend over to show him! Of all the damn placed to get a cut, that just had to be the one? She pointed back to her leg, not able to say anything. Jak walked over to her, placing a hand on the small of her back as he lent over to see. "Could you bend over a little bit?" he asked her.

With a blush that was so intense she was sure there was no blood left in the rest of her body she bent over more. Jak's hand felt slightly cooler than her skin, stroking slightly right next to the wound. "It doesn't look that bad." He announced. Valentine squeezed her eyes shut, not able to believe this was happening. His hand stroked down, towards the ticklish place at the back of her knee. "If you're careful it should be healed up soon enough. It's just in an awkward place," he sounded strangely choked up behind her.

She placed her hands on the low bench that divided the two halves of the room, looking back at him. "I'll be back to normal soon, doctor?" she asked, trying to sound playful. Dear, dear Precursors, his hand moved up on the outside of her leg again. Didn't he know what he was doing to her heart like this? She raised herself up, falling back in his arms thanks to his speed. She let out a gasp when he placed warm lips on her neck, his goatee slightly scratching her hot skin.

"Very soon," He promised her in a heated whisper. Warm breath stroked across her skin as he pulled her against him, arms clasped firmly around her waist. He continued to kiss her neck, making her lean back against him even more. She realized she could feel what he had been thinking while in the shower. Somehow the realization made everything more exciting. "But maybe..." His teeth stroked very gently past her skin, making her tense up and lean into him without realizing what she was doing. "Maybe I should check you all over?" he suggested.

Her breath caught in her throat. She didn't trust her voice so she just nodded, turning around in his arms, offering her mouth to him. He pressed her against the wall, her hands interlacing in his damp hair. Valentine let out a very slow moan against him, not believing her luck. One of his hands slowly rubbed her back, loath to let her go, to let her get any further from him than was necessary. She tickled his neck, pressing kisses along his cheek, trailing down his neck.

One warm finger slowly traced her back, slowly moving up. "Awkward place, hmm?" she managed to ask him. He nodded, breathless. "So this was what you were thinking," She stated, trying to gather her thoughts by talking.

He shut her up quite efficiently, kissing her even deeper. She opened her mouth for him, just enough to allow him entrance. The kiss was greedy and intense as he pushed her more firmly against the wall. Her hands ran across his bare back, feeling muscles beneath her hands as if steel had been lined with velvet. "I've been thinking a lot about you," He mumbled, pressing his lips against the hollow of her neck once more. Encouraged by a slow 'oh' he sucked the delicate spot, dissolving any rational thinking she might have had left. She could feel how his lips formed a smile, as he pressed more firmly against her.

On instinct she wrapped her legs around him, arms around bare shoulders. His warm hands started to rub her sides, going almost maddeningly slow. She felt hotter than she had underneath the shower as she tried to keep from moaning too loudly. When one hand cupped her breast she thought her heart would start beating even faster. She kissed him again, sucking on his bottom lip in sweet revenge.

"Valentine, Jak, are you trying to drown yourselves in there?" Torn's voice interrupted them rudely.

They paused, pressing their eyes shut. "Not. Happening," She brought out against Jak's lips.

"He might go away if we ignore him?" He suggested, pressing a new kiss on her cheek.

"I've got a group of scouts coming in five, so finish up your business and get your asses to bed," the gravely voice came back to haunt them.

Valentine rolled her eyes when she heard that. So much for maybe pulling Jak back into a shower and continuing their business there. "I'm going to kill Torn," She lamented against Jak's shoulder. He placed his hands around her legs, lowering her gently.

"Not if I get my hands on him first," He promised her, voice still hoarse with desire.

She nipped him gently on his bottom lip, wondering if her eyes were shining so feverishly as his were. "Better luck next time," She promised him, mentally cursing Torn for his timing. "C'mon, big boy." she took his hand with a smirk. "Let's go to sleep."


	36. Slumber

|Haven|

Jak had to resist the urge to inflict some damage on Torn or any innocent equipment when they made their way up. There had to be some kind of universal code not to disturb someone when they were busy like that. His mood was slightly improved when he was greeted by a plate of warm sandwiches and what smelled like hot chocolate. Valentine kissed him on the cheek, handing him the first mug she got in her hands. "Stop pouting like that." She told him with a smile on her face.

He rolled his eyes when he heard that. He was not pouting, and if he was he had a damned good reason for it. He watched as Valentine practically forced Torn to show her where the technical difficulties lay, before she got down on her knees to start working immediately. He put the mug on the table, grabbing her with his free arm while he was busy eating with the other one. He ignored her protests. "You're going to get dirty again, and I won't have you sharing a shower with a bunch of sweaty guys." He'd be damned if anyone beside him would see Valentine undressed.

He deftly placed the sandwich he'd almost finished in her mouth when she thought about arguing with him. "And stop pouting," He teased her. She tried to frown at him, the effect greatly diminished by the stray crumbs around her mouth. Before he could snatch those away he caught Torn looking at the both of them.

"Torn, did you make these yourself? They're amazing!" Valentine said, taking another one. Torn looked at Jak once more with what was almost a glare, leaving him to wonder what he had to be angry about. At least Torn hadn't been having fun in the showers not even ten minutes ago.

"I remembered how hungry the two of you could get," Torn replied, leaving the question on whether or not he had made those sandwiches aside. "If the two of you get hungry you're a force to be reckoned with, though the anger could get misdirected."

Valentine tried to look insulted. "I only attacked you once because I was hungry," She replied, attempting to look fairly dignified. "Your own fault for keeping a lady away from lunch."

"I was planning a sensitive operation but your stomach kept getting in the way," Torn told her, almost making strangling motions in the air.

Valentine took a sip of her drink, clearly enjoying her game. "My stomach was at that moment a lot more important than your planning a way to see Ashelin," The way Torn stiffened up Jak could see that had been a bulls-eye. Valentine winked at Jak, nodding her head towards Torn. "If you ever need tips on sneaking inside a heavily guarded palace, that's your guy."

Half an hour of casual banter later – Jak had almost forgiven Torn for interrupting, but not quite – Valentine started to yawn. Jak took that as his cue to guide her downstairs, knowing fully well he would have to keep his hands to himself there, since the place was probably filled with people sleeping after a hard day's work. He felt weary himself, but then again, the day had been a lot more eventful than he had originally planned. He did not look forward to explaining to Damas how he had managed to spirit the Spargus heir out of the desert.

Valentine grabbed him by the arm when they were about halfway across the room, stopping him in his tracks. He'd been looking for a pair of bunk beds close to each other, but so far they'd only passed one or two beds that were unoccupied in the dimly lit room. "Let's sleep here," she mumbled, her voice so heavy with sleep Jak thought it was a miracle she was still standing. He nodded, about to move away when she refused to let go of him. "Together," She insisted.

"Val, I don't know if that's a good idea," He whispered back at her.

She shook her head when he protested, sitting back on the small bed as she moved towards the wall more, making room for him. "Back in Spargus I always sleep with Meta," she announced, already making herself more comfortable. "Can't sleep when I'm alone anymore," She continued, stretching out her hand towards him, palm upwards. When he hesitated she looked at him pleading. "C'mon, big boy. Sleep with your girl."

Taking a deep breath he agreed to her request, finding his resolve immediately tested by the simple fact that she was near him. Valentine pulled up the blanket around them, nestling her body closer against him. He wrapped an arm around her as she let her hand rest on his bare chest, the tips of her fingers slightly tickling him. Her long hair was damp, but not completely wet, and she still vaguely smelled like soap and water, along with that mysterious undercurrent that he associated with the desert.

_Valentine._

Before he had taken more than five breaths she had fallen asleep against him, completely confident in the fact that he would be here for her. Her dark blue eyes were now hidden underneath dark eyelashes, her lips slightly parted. He noted he might have been too rough earlier, a few pink spots around her mouth and her neck visible in the faint light. She must have been exhausted to fall asleep so easily, so completely.

_When I grow up, I will protect you._

He had promised her that, in what was more than a decade ago for him, and only a few years for her. Sometimes flashes of his past resurfaced, vague and distorted. Of most he could hardly figure out who was starring in them, but those with Valentine were most often the clearest. He would have to tell her, soon. Would have to tell her that she had been the one protecting him so long ago, that she had been his Guardian.

How strange that she would look so innocent when she slept, so sweet and unsuspecting. It was the first time he had seen her so serene and defenseless. He stroked his index finger past her cheek, finding a small scar that he had never noticed before. The touch made her emit a small sound, causing her to somehow press herself closer against him. "Jak…" she mumbled his name, before she smiled in her sleep.

_When I grow up, I will protect you._

How would she react when he told her? Would she be angry? Would she believe him? He could tell her what he remembered. His eyes roved the contours of her face, drinking in every detail as if he was dying in the desert and she the only thing to save him. She had saved him when he had been a child, and again when he had gotten away from Praxis. He owed it to her to tell her, but at the same time he was afraid. There were too many things that could go wrong, and now that he finally had her he couldn't bear the thought that maybe this secret would be too much.

"… Love you…Jak…" she mumbled, her hand softly stroking past his chest.

He could feel his heart stop when she said that. For a moment his whole world froze before falling back into place. She had no idea what she had just mumbled in her sleep, but he didn't think he would be able to forget. Love. He stroked a callused thumb past her arm, trying to imagine if there were words in this world that would ever make more of an impact on him.

_I love you most of all, Valentine._

He couldn't remember when he had fallen asleep, but suddenly he was very aware of someone standing above him. It couldn't be Valentine, since he could feel a firm body pressed against him and a pair of soft lips pressed against his neck. He opened up one eye, wondering who it was that dared to disturb them.

Torn. Of course it was him. No matter how much respect Jak might have for him, some things went too far. "Well, I see you're finally up," Torn remarked in his usual tone of voice. Dark eyes looked down on Jak and the still slumbering Valentine. "Anything you want to tell me?" he asked, raising his eyebrows. The way he put emphasis on his words suggested a world of pain for a wrong answer.

Valentine raised her head, sounding as if she was still half-asleep. "We're dating. My virtue is safe, thanks to you." Her voice was slightly grouchy at that last part. "Next time I'll hurt you," She promised, opening her eyes slightly.

Torn smirked when he heard that. "I'm very happy your… virtue is safe." Jak let a finger slide down her hip underneath the safety of the covers, causing her to let out a content sigh.

"Very happy…" she agreed, snuggling back into Jak as she waved a hand to dismiss Torn. This was not counting a man who was feared in his own right, as he had no qualms about ripping away the blanket from them, causing Valentine to scream in indignation. Jak quickly held her back as she threw the pillow at Torn, who aptly dodged the soft projectile.

"Torn, are you trying to pick a fight with me in the morning?" she growled. Jak felt a stab of remorse because this meant peace and quiet time was over until further notice.

Torn walked away, tossing a bundle of clothes on the bed. "Everyone else is out already, so get your asses up. I have a communication system that needs an expert's touch."

At least that was enough to soothe Valentine, even if it left Jak still a bit annoyed. Couldn't they ever have any time alone? He was surprised after pulling his blue shirt over his head by a kiss. "Good morning, handsome," She said sweetly. "I slept great last night, and I think it's all thanks to you."

"Go work on your toys," He replied smiling, running his hands through his hair. "I know you've been dying to since yesterday."

Valentine rushed up the stairs, stealing a sweet bun from the counter of the bar. At least there wasn't a food shortage in Haven because that would have been the end of her. "You're a horrible person, you know that?" she asked through a stuffed mouth when she saw Torn, before she plopped down in front of the communicator. "Harassing my guy like that."

"Someone has to look out for you," Torn reminded her, bending so he could see what she was doing. "You're still just a kid. I mean, a young woman," He corrected himself when he caught her glare.

She let out a satisfied hum as she checked the system, feeling secure now that she was once again able to play around with something more technologically advanced than a toothbrush. "I can look out for myself," She said, almost dangerously sweet. "And Jak will take care of me as well," She continued, letting out a disapproving 'tssk' when she saw how they had installed the communication system. No wonder it was lagging.

"Damn right I will," Jak said, dressed in his freshly washed clothes. "Where's Dax?" he asked, looking around him.

"Probably still with his sugar. It's raining couples around here," Torn commented, tapping his fingers on the flat surface of the counter as he reached for a mug filled with something warm.

"Somebody's cranky because they can't cuddly up to their redheaded sweetheart. Torn and Ashelin, sittin' in a tree…" Valentine cooed from her hidden position, drawing a chuckle from Jak.

"Somebody said my name?" A voice came from the communicator, making Valentine bump her head against the top of the table. "That sounded painful," Ashelin commented, her head being the only thing projected.

Valentine clamored up from her crouched position, rubbing her head. "That was painful," She stated, feeling if there would be a bump forming. "At least I got the lag fixed."

"I knew I could count on you two," Ashelin said, looking down at the new reinforcements.

Valentine shrugged, sauntering off next to Jak with more than a bit of pride in her step. "Nothing to mention, especially since you're the one that saved my ass back then," she replied, before the image started flickering. "That's not supposed to happen, hey, Ashelin!"

"Erol!" Jak snarled at the new apparition, not happy at all with this view. Valentine practically fumed when she saw him as well. Apart from being an insufferable ass, he was mocking her professional integrity by jamming Ashelin's signal.

"I live, hahahaha," Erol announced, much to everyone's dismay. "Still fighting for the weak link, eh Jak? Well, I've had a few 'enhancements' since we last met." Valentine rolled her eyes. The Precursors knew Erol had needed something to make him more sufferable. "Even the Metal Heads have their biological weaknesses. But me? I'm pure metal! I'd love to meet you again."

Before any of them could say something Erol's face was replaced by that of Samos. "We must unite our forces or we're through. We got the same message here just now. You've got to reach us, Jak!"

Ashelin replaced Samos on-screen, her face directed at Torn as she spoke. Valentine was trying to keep track of her emotions which had ranged from anger at seeing Erol, to surprise at seeing Samos, to just simple frustration because people didn't slow down for five seconds. "We need you to break through and link up with us before it's too late. The KG robots are growing stronger. That floating war factory of theirs is spitting out more robots each day."

Ashelin disappeared, leaving the people around the table to finally catch their breaths. Valentine couldn't remember the last time she had seen such a rapid succession of communication. Maybe she had gotten more used to relaxed Spargus than she had realized. Torn pointed down at the map, gesturing for the two to keep up with the pace. "If we can break through their defenses, we may be able to get back to HQ and meet up. Care to make some noise Jak?" Torn asked, clearly looking forward to getting some payback at the robots.

"We're always up for a little rumble, right Val?" Jak asked, looking at Valentine as she was chewing her bottom lip, trying to figure out at least one solution to everything she had just heard.

"I think you mean, we're almost up. I'm still trying to figure out which way is up," Valentine replied with a yawn. When the two men looked at her with what was almost a disappointed look she huffed. "Oh, grow up you two. Fine, I'll play along for now. Besides, I want a chance at taking out a robot, I want to see what makes those puppies tick."

"Valentine!" A sultry voice called out from the entrance, and before she knew what was happening she was caught in a hug by Tess. It didn't surprise her too much, since Tess had been one of the kinder members of the Underground. "It's so good to have you back here! Daxter told me all about your adventures in the Wastes."

Valentine didn't doubt that for one second, nor did she doubt there had been a lot of embellishments. Tess continued talking. "Don't bother going easy on those robots, they always bring me spare parts and you're more than welcome to dig through those. I can't wait to have a decent girl talk, these men are killing me."   
Valentine nodded, trying to keep up with the cascade of words that did not look like it would slow down any time soon. "We can talk nail polish, and fashion, and you have to see this new gun I designed, it's amazing."

"Sounds great'" Valentine said, surprised at hearing Tess had taken towards gun design.

"You make guns now?" Jak asked, sounding just as surprised as Valentine was.

"She sure does!" Daxter yelled out, sliding over the floor towards his friends. "You should see her work, it's pretty darn fantastic."

"I just finished this latest one, it sports a multi-port, large bore, gyro-burst launcher, with blowback breach assist using full-jacket Eco-depleted armor piercing slugs, and a continuous kill zone scanner for tight groupings at a high-cycle rate of fire." Tess caught the look everyone gave her and giggled once. "It's a hobby."

Valentine nodded, fascinated by the concept. "How did you solve the cooling system? With that type of gun there had to have been a lot of problems."

The men watched as they got into their conversation, realizing they were way out of their league. Jak coughed, trying to look as if he understood a third of what they were saying. He knew how to work a gun, wasn't that enough? "Girl talk, right?" he asked with a nervous chuckle.

"Ladies, focus," Torn said, snapping his fingers. He was rewarded by the two females crossing their arms over one another, both of them having the look on their face that usually spelled fiery doom for the man that had interrupted their girly chat. "Daxter, you're up. Rodeo that rocket to the shield so we can get a move on."

Five minutes later they found themselves watching as Daxter attempted to steer a rocket over the port, Tess squeezing the bones out of Valentine's arm as she feared her 'schnookums' might get killed. Not that Valentine was so confident that Daxter would make it out alive, they could hear him screaming all the way over here. One explosion later they had their way to the Freedom HQ cleared.

Valentine already started to stretch, entertaining hope that they could be back in Spargus before evening fell. Not that she was looking forward to being chewed out by Damas, but the sooner she got it over with the better. Not to mention Damas could really carry a grudge for as long as the other party was still alive. That hope was very soon crashed by Torn.

"I need you guys to get back into the sewers." Valentine turned around to strangle the man as Tess ran off to check on Daxter.

"We just got out of the sewers. I refuse to set a foot in that place once again for the rest of my life," she managed to wring out, ignoring the soothing pats Jak was giving her. "I don't want to."

Jak placed an arm around her shoulder, pulling her close. "Don't worry Torn, she'll do it."

As she tried to protest Jak cut her off with a kiss, nearly sending Torn into an embarrassed stupor. She gave him a punch on the shoulder, unable to wipe the smile off her face. "Fine. I'm going."

Hey, maybe they could get back into the shower, right? She had an idea arguing battle tactics would be more fun in that kind of environment.


	37. Blow it up

|Metal Head Area|

Valentine let out a low whistle at seeing how the previous trade district of Haven had been transformed by the Metals, after taking a gulp of clean air of course. There was nothing left but dark gray plants that emitted an eerie yellowish light, along with what looked like their current mission target : tanks filled with Dark Eco. She eyed the containers suspiciously, fully aware of how her body would react if she got anywhere near those things. Not to mention it seemed like the only path there was over some dark vines. "Yeah… this does not look like I'll be any help with accomplishing the mission status," She said, at least feeling happy about being out of the sewers.

"The Board probably won't be able to carry the two of us either way," Jak agreed, looking at the Hover Board appraising. No matter how good he was at using it, carrying Valentine across a chasm of vicious looking goo while being chased by Metals would probably never make the top hundred of great hero ideas. "So, we split up?" he asked her, looking to the sides of the goo-filled canal with a flicker of worry.

Valentine followed his gaze along the sides of the gaping hole in the middle of the district. There were a bunch of small Metal Heads scurrying across the ground, but those were dumb enough to be fooled into thinking that she was a King. The taller ones might be more of a problem though…  
"I'll be fine," She said slowly, taking in the surroundings. There was a lot of Eco in the plants, so maybe she would be able to find some use for those? She had already proven she could make Eco do what she wanted when it was inside a metal casing, and the Arena was pretty much her fun zone if Damos let her to what she wanted in there.

"I think I'll be sticking with Jak for this round," Daxter announced, clearly preferring the more safer looking path over a route that would lead him to an almost certain fate as snack food. "Not that I don't trust ya, babe," He added, grinning at Valentine.

She grinned at those words, rolling her shoulders and taking a quick stretch. "I can handle my own, so don't worry about me Dax. I'd be more worried about what Tess will do when you get hurt, so try not to get into trouble." She had two knives in a belt, and two more in her boots, all borrowed from the HQ. It would have been nice if she'd known they would be ending up here though. Then she could have brought over her own equipment instead of having to borrow. Jak was lucky, since he never lost sight of his gun.

With a nod Valentine watched Jak as he blazed away on his Board, before she turned to face the route she would be following. The few Metal Scorpions that dared to come near her received a mental blast that would leave them with some very painful migraines for the few upcoming days, something which she couldn't quite pity them for. They came at her with killer intent after all, even if they were only part of a hive mentality with nobody to effectively pull the strings. She assumed it was different for Meta, who had been cut off from the Hive since she was young. Metal Heads were capable of independent thought, though they just weren't used to it. She wondered how Ma'al dealt with governing his entire hive.

After dealing with a few of the grunts she turned to see how Jak was doing, just in time to see her boyfriend nearly crashing into the ground. "The hell? Jak, are you okay?"

He got up, brushing himself off as he tried to look like he had been totally expecting that. "I'm fine, really. There are these weird air-blowing plants and I wanted to see what would happen if I stepped on one."

She pointed towards one of said plants which was just releasing a burst of air. "You mean one of these?" Leave it to him to think stepping on them was a good idea. A pointed look from Valentine sent some of the Metals scurrying for safety as she gave Jak a quick look-over to see if there was any permanent damage. "At least you're getting into the spirit of science," She said with a shrug. "But if you get yourself killed doing this, I'll make sure you're sorry."

"When I'm dead?" He asked with a grin, already making his way to the next plant. Daxter dropped to the ground, staying behind with her. "Well, if there's someone who can make me feel anything then, it'll probably be you," he added with a chuckle, before being launched to the other side of the chasm.

Valentine placed her hands on her hips, shaking her head. Never mind the enemies like Erol and the Metals, if Jak ever got killed he would probably have himself to thank for it. Talk about a high-risk love interest. Daxter climbed up to her shoulder, sharp nails digging into her skin with every inch he rose up to meet her.

"You worried about our boy?" he asked her, holding on as she slowly made her way towards the exit. She kept a close look on Jak, seeing some Metal Heads who were carrying guns. Never mind where they got those, she didn't like them pointing the barrels at Jak. Her mind followed the flow of Eco through the vines as she started to frown. "Don't be, he can take care of himself."

She flexed her hand as she felt the Eco in her body command the Eco in the vines. Before the Metals could fire their first shot the vines shot from the ground and the wall, wrapping themselves around the helpless victims. A few quick beatings on the ground later and the dark shapes were eerily quiet. Daxter tensed up next to her, clearly frightened. "What the hell! Even the vines are dangerous in this place! I should have stayed home with Tess," He lamented, self-pity so audible it nearly dripped on the ground.

Valentine reached up to pat him on the head when she continued walking, this time keeping a closer eye on the other side of the river. "Chill, that was just me. I told you things changed after I tried the cure, right? I'm still experimenting, but as long as I can connect to the Eco I can influence the container of the eco." She explained, waving her other hand in the air as if that would help her explain. "At least, that's what I think it does. I'm like… ninety percent sure. Maybe eighty-nine."

Daxter rolled his eyes at that. "Yes, well, just because you and Jak got the creepy superpowers doesn't mean I catch on that quick. Next time you decide to pull a little stunt like that, get me in the know. I don't like being creeped out at all the time. Also, remind me not to ever piss either of you off." He pretended to wipe some sweat from his brow. "The both of ya are enough to make anyone walk on the tips of their toes."

"It's not that bad," Valentine replied, before a bullet hit a Metal Sniper neither of the two had seen. She gave Jak a thumbs up from her side of the chasm, before she continued walking. "And we always have your back Daxter. You're a very dear friend to me after all."

Daxter rubbed the back of his head, almost seeming shy at that comment. "Aw shucks, Valentine. You're going to get me all emotional and stuff, and neither of us wants to see that happening."

"Then I'll try not to say it again," She replied with a grin, throwing a knife at a grunt that though rushing straight for them would be a good idea. As she bent down to pull her knife out of the skull gem she pitched her new idea. "Anyway, I was thinking we could stop by my old place while we're in town. There' some photo albums I wanna pick up before we're going back to Spargus. And maybe there's a chance the Kid's been hiding there without anyone noticing."

If it had been possible to see, Valentine would have noticed Daxter's color fading from his face beneath the fur. "Ah, you're still looking for the little tyke eh?" He let out a nervous chuckle as a rain of bullets from Jak's side took care of several tall Metal Heads.

Valentine's eyes widened when she heard Daxter say that. "Of course I am. I'm supposed to take care of him, aren't I? Who knows what he's doing now. He might be scared out of his mind, while I promised to protect him." Daxter glanced towards Jak, knowing exactly what the person Valentine was worrying about was doing at the moment. "I just need to find him, and then I'll take him back with me to Spargus."

She didn't mention that then Damas would be reunited with his son and she could go back to just being a Guardian instead of the next ruler of the desert city. She was more than happy just making sure the ruler would be safe, especially if that person would be Mar. "So, that's the little side agenda I've got going on here," she admitted, relieved to see the entrance to the harbor appear. "I can count on you, right?"

After Daxter gave a grunt that could have meant anything she decided to dial up Torn to ask for further details. "Say Torn, I can get you wanting us to get rid of the Eco containers – Jak is doing a smashing job actually, and I do mean that literally – but we're at the main gate now. Do you want us to do anything here or should we head back through the sewers. Note how I did not cringe this time when I said sewer."

"I don't know, do I look like the kind of guy that enjoys giving Metal Heads free entrance to our part of the city?" Torn asked her, sarcasm oozing through the speakers. "Of course I don't want you to smash up the gate. Just get your asses dragged through the sewers and report back here."

Valentine opened her mouth to reply when she could see Jak tensing up. She'd seen him smash the last container, but she hadn't thought that he would be overloading. How long had it been since he had transformed anyway? "Crap," She said softly, but not so soft that Torn couldn't hear her.

"Valentine, what's going on over there?" If this had been a situation where she could enjoy the tone of concern in Torn's voice Valentine would have, but sadly enough Jak had just transformed and seemed to be charging up something that looked an awful lot like the Dark Bomb she had used all those years ago. She swallowed, throwing Daxter on the ground before jumping on top of the hairy critter.

Not a second too soon either. As she still bounced from the impact the Dark Eco screeched towards the gate, smashing it into tiny pieces. The electric wards on the other side couldn't deal with the overload, blasting the entire structure in even smaller pieces. Three seconds later the booming sounds subsided, but Valentine didn't get up just yet. It would be just something for her to get knocked to the ground by a last remnant of stubborn building scrap.

"Get offa me!" Daxter tried to yell from beneath her stomach. Valentine obliged by lifting up her stomach, still remaining as level to the ground as possible while giving the Ottsel some breathing space. "I can get trying ta save me, but could you do it with a bit more of oxygen next time?" He complained, smoothing out his fur.

"Valentine, report immediately," Torn shouted from the communicator on her wrist. "What the hell was that explosion just now?" he demanded.

She rolled over on her back, not caring about the dust that started to scatter over her clothes and in her hair. The pants were borrowed from the Underground cache anyway, so it wasn't like anyone would mind those getting filthy. "Remember that gate we shouldn't get rid of under any circumstance? What's your plan B on that one?" she informed, trying to sound casual as she heard Jak rushing towards her over rubble.

Ignoring the initial stream of swears that streamed out of the communicator she allowed Jak to help her to her feet. They looked at one another and immediately blurted out the question that was for the moment the most important. "Are you alright?"

After an initial double-take they chuckled, before Valentine recovered the fastest. "No, but I am serious. You just released an insane amount of Dark Eco just now. Are you okay?"

Jak nodded, looking at her as if he expected to find bruises and cuts all over. "What about you? I didn't exactly get a good look, but it looked as if the rubble was bouncing off you before it even got near. Sure nothing hit you?"

Valentine wiggled in place, trying to feel if anything felt more sore than should be expected after some contact with gravity. "I'm okay. Daxter is too, even if he is being a baby about being smothered."

"Smothered is the exact word I was looking for," Daxter exclaimed, resting himself against Jak's leg. "I don't know about you lot, but I could go for a day without anything blowing up with me being in the same freaking city."

"Valentine, I'm still talking to you!" Torn threatened, making Valentine swipe up the communicator with her best 'yikes' face. "Thanks to your royal screw-up you got yourself nominated for some gardening. Samos wants the three of you to head down to the forest and get rid of some Eco plants. This time you are allowed to destroy them, so do your damned jobs while I clean up after the lot of you."

Valentine scrunched up her nose as Torn added some more comments about their possible ancestry. It reminded her of how he would get his boxers in a twist whenever she nearly destroyed the hide-out in her earlier Eco-infected years. "Yikes, let's stay out of his hair for the time being," She suggested, turning off the communicator with a speed that suggested she didn't feel like going near Torn for quite a while.

|The Forest|

Valentine tapped the pillar that had risen up from the remnants of the lake, letting the characteristic hollow thumping sound reverberate through the forest. "You know, Mar might have been this great hero that did all these wondrous things, but it would have been nice if he or one of my own ancestors had thought about adding a manual to all his stuff." She tried to lean against the huge pillar but her hand slipped right off, nearly landing her into the water. "I mean, what's this thing do? I don't see anything that looks like a controlling panel or whatever you want to call it."

Jak let out an exhausted huff, leaning his back on a tree as he took a breather. "Why are you getting all worked up about this? It's just some old junk, who knows if we'll even be able to use it."

Valentine dropped to her knees, grabbing him by the collar of his shirt as she spoke. "Because old junk is interesting." She sat down next to him, looking at him as she leaned her elbow on her knee. "And I don't like not knowing stuff. Like, what's the deal with this Day Star? What's Veger planning on doing? And why did Erol come back as a robot?"  
She looked him over as well, her face set unusually grim. "You're keeping something from me as well." She said softly, though she didn't look as upset as she could have. "It's got something to do with Mar, or with Precursor stuff."

He started, raising himself half up in surprise. "I… that's… how did you figure that out?"

One corner of her mouth raised in a smile. "I'm the genius of this group, aren't I? And you got all fidgety when we went through that Mar door back in the temple." She tapped a finger against his forehead, keeping her head to the side as she continued. "I don't mind all that much if you want to keep some secrets, I guess. Everybody has them. but I would like to know what that particular secret is you're keeping."

He started coughing, somehow managed to go brighter red than the scarf around his face. Valentine patted Jak on the back, looking at him quite curiously. What was his secret that he would almost choke when she asked him about it?

"I'll tell you eventually." He promised her when he recovered. "Just… not right now, okay?" he looked at her sideways, more worried than she had ever seen him.

She leaned her head back on her hand, wiggling her nose in wonder. "Sure…" she said slowly, not knowing what she was supposed to think about this. Who would have guessed Jak would be the one person who would manage to keep her wondering? "I'll wait until you're ready to tell me."

Jak let out a sigh of relief before he reached out to take her hand. They sat down in the sun for a moment like that, just enjoying a moment of peace before they had to go out again. "Don't you ever get tired of being a hero?" she asked him as a breeze gently lolled by.

"Sometimes," He answered truthfully. "I could do without all the dirt and blood." He gave her hand a squeeze as he laid back again, looking relaxed. "Though the job has some perks."

She lay down next to him, enjoying a rare moment of peace. "It does?"

"Well…" he said slowly, tracing a finger over the back of her hand. "I did get to meet you."


	38. Dear Ol' Jinx

|Metal Head Area|

"Hey there, pretty boy! You ready to rock and roll?" a piercing voice called out to the trio when they re-emerged from the altered Haven Forest. Valentine looked down to the side of the ramp in surprise, doing a double-take when she saw a face she hadn't expected to ever see again.

"Jinx, what are you doing here?" she asked, wondering why one of Krew's former henchmen came to pick them up. She had thought that all characters with a more dubious background would have left the scene a long, long time ago. Turned out she had been wrong on that account.

Jinx let out a slow whistle when he laid eyes on her. "Girl, they should toss people out in the desert more often. You're looking even finer than I remember, and I have an excellent memory." Valentine could feel how Jak tensed up at that statement and felt the corners of her mouth pull up in a grin. She coughed to hide her amusement at how he was trying to stare Jinx down all of a sudden.

"Still haven't told me what you're doing here," she reminded him, bumping her hip against Jak to snap him out of the one-sided staring match. Jinx looked between the two of them with a suddenly knowing look – was that amount of surprise really necessary? – before he started to tell them just what needed to be done.

"Well, ya see, Torn wants us to destroy the Eco grid, which is why Goldilocks here gets to drive me around and be my personal bodyguard until the mission is complete," He explained with a grin, pointing at himself with a thumb. "Sounded like Torn didn't want to lose his grade A bombing expert, so you saving my skin would be appreciated."

They skidded down to the ride, Valentine sitting in the back where she would have to be careful not to get thrown off the car in the more bumpy moments. Then again, she didn't feel like being drawn into a testosterone fueled contest, and Jinx was just the type to antagonize people until the point where they might be tempted to throw him out of the car. Daxter seemed to have the same idea, deciding against sitting with Jak and taking the otherwise more risky position of sitting with Valentine on the back of the big vehicle.

Jinx leaned back, the school example of a laid back suave guy as he looked at Valentine sitting behind them, lighting his cigarette. "So tell me, how does a girl like you end up back here? I thought you were supposed to be dead, or ruling the Wasteland. One of the two, people were pretty much divided on the subject."

"Neither, actually," She replied, suppressing a snort at the time old 'what's a girl like you doing here', or the variant on it. "Especially not the dead part," She added, resisting the urge to smooth down Jak's hair while she was sitting behind him. How it always did manage to stick up like that was a scientific riddle in its own right. She was saved from another poor pick-up line by the first power box, which was now warranted a rather sad fate.

Jak divided his attention between looking at her, Jinx and any Metal Head that might be approaching them. Valentine couldn't help but grin every time he let his eyes rest on Jinx for a moment, almost seeing the wheels turn in his head as he thought over how much of a threat the guy could be. Jinx was blissfully unaware of the attention he was receiving as his head was ducked in the box, every once in a while a rumble or a low curse emitted, depending on how well he was doing.

"You're cute when you're jealous," Valentine said, resting her head on her hand as she sat cross-legged on the Zoomer. Maybe they should look for one of the three-seated ones when they were more in the HQ part of the route, though the smaller seats were their own kind of hell. Hardly enough space for an adult to get comfortable, not to mention they were even slower than the one they were using now.

Jak frowned, a single wrinkle forming on his forehead as he did so. "I'm not jealous," He said, sounding as if he were prepared to lock Jinx in the grid box for the crime of laying eyes on his girlfriend. "Just looking out for you."

"Yes, and I'm actually the princess of the sugar land, where magical unicorns fart rainbows and eat nothing but cotton candy," She snorted in reply, not able to take his statement seriously. The glare he sent her way set her straight again, though she still thought the situation was quite humorous. "Don't worry too much about Jinx. It's his way of telling people he's glad they're alright. I think he even used one of his pick-up lines on Krew once, though he was pretty drunk that time." Her eyes squeezed together when she thought back at that moment. "The day after he realized what he'd done and vowed to never get drunk again. That vow lasted for about three days."

Jak twitched his nose for a moment, trying to process the information. Before he could say anything Jinx popped back up again, jumping in the car before the two of them could react. "Okay kiddies, get in the Zoomer, quick!"

Before they had moved from their position the grid box blew up, shaking the Zoomer back and forth more than they had anticipated. Daxter immediately expressed his distaste for the situation. "The hell, can't ya use a longer fuse or something?" he growled from Valentine's shoulder, shaking a furry fist at the bomber. "You could've blown us up, you nutcase."

Jinx relit his smoke as Jak raised the Zoomer up to a safer altitude. "I gotta make sure I have enough fuse left for other days too, fuzzy. Besides, everyone here is tougher than getting shaken up by something like a small explosion. I remember Torn blowing his top about the gate you destroyed a few hours ago."

The three of them all looked guilty when they heard those words, Daxter even taking up a whistle as he looked up to the air. "I'm not blaming you guys, just wanted to be there when it happened. Two of the best things in this world are a beautiful woman and a big-ass explosion." Jinx leaned back as he thought about his statement, taking a long inhale on his smoke before nodding to himself. "Yeah, that's the life. And right now you've got both Jakiboy!"

Jak nearly lost control over the vehicle when Jinx clapped him on the back in what he supposed was meant in a congratulatory way. "Jinx, driving," He mumbled, before stopped next to the following box. Metal activity was increasing, something neither of the two heroes failed to notice as they entered the HQ territory. Daxter let out a low whistle, saying something about how the two of them were in big Trouble, capital T only there because he couldn't find a better way to express it.

Valentine had reached the same conclusion, fiddling with the collar of her top nervously when she thought about Torn's reaction when they finally got back. "Hot dang, he'll be ripping us to shreds. I'm just wondering which one he'll save for last."   
When she caught Jak's gaze she half-shrugged, not entirely sure she was joking right now. "Next time we discover a new power for either of us, let's do it in an area Torn doesn't want to keep in one piece. Let's say the desert."   
Then she remembered Damos would probably be wanting to have a word with her once she got back there as well. "Never mind the desert. There has to be some place on this planet where I won't get chewed out for screwing something up." She clapped her hands together as Jak took down a grunt Metal that had managed to slip past the freedom fighters. "Right, I was telling Daxter I wanted to go back to my old place. Once we finish this mission, let's stop there first for a spell."

"Your place?" Jak asked, suddenly wondering if he had left any mess on the last day he had spent there. He was fairly sure he had done the dishes, though exile had a funny way of making one forget about such day by day chores like that. He got back behind the wheel when Jinx shouted he was ready, not eager to get nearly blown up again.

Valentine nodded, though Jak couldn't see that while he was driving. "Yeah. There's some stuff I want to pick up there. Old picture books, one of my wrist computers, maybe have a look at my old research notes. While we're in town, I figured I might as well take advantage of the situation."

Both Jinx and Daxter thought they should make a comment on 'taking advantage of the situation', resulting in a message Valentine didn't think she'd be able to decipher if they gave her five minutes. Though judging from a few stray words, she should be happy she didn't catch most of Jinx's message. The parts that she caught were enough to turn her ears slightly pink, especially since they pertained to things that she actually wanted to do with Jak. Thankfully they reached the final box where Valentine resisted the urge to kick Jinx inside the damn metal contraption.

Jak kept a vigilant look-out for any robots that might be intent on attacking them, at the same time trying to make sure he would be able to talk to Valentine. "Guess there's no harm in stopping by your place," he finally admitted as Daxter retracted his claws so he wouldn't slip off the back of the Zoomer. He considered laying down low there until Torn had cooled off a little bit.

Meanwhile Valentine was considering other plans, and had she known of plans to lay low she would have blown her top. The longer they were gone from Spargus the more something was bound to go wrong. And the more time she had to consider the things that were bound to go wrong, the less she liked not being able to be there to keep a hand on things. Other than Damos probably getting more frustrated with two of his citizens – Well, citizen and a half, Jak didn't count fully yet – there was a high chance Ma'al would waltz into town. Somebody had to be there in case Ma'al decided to solve a problem for someone by eating the offender.  
She slapped her hands in front of her face, thinking about how Spargus would look if she left her apprentices alone for too long, with the hatchlings that had yet to learn the basis of manners. And then there was the council, who would have a laundry list of chores and documents that had to be done and supervised as soon as possible and preferably yesterday. The monks might have some tasks for her as well, and she still hadn't found Seem and…

She stopped thinking about all of that for a moment, taking deep breaths. Right now she was in Haven, and she needed to get things sorted out here first. Calming down she thought about the most important things that needed to be fixed while they were here. One was gathering more clues about where the Kid could possibly be. Two was getting Veger kicked out of the council, not that he had much business being on it in the first place. Three was finding Seem and asking her some serious questions about the end of the world, without all of the theological bull that the monks usually added to it. Four… she glanced to the side, where Jak was discussing something with Daxter, leaning against the Zoomer casually. Four would be getting some more private time with Jak. There were some things left unfinished that desperately needed to find some sort of conclusion if she was to remain sane when she was around him.

Ah, the wonders of an overactive brain that enjoyed making her even more aware of all the things she could do to him, or he to her. When he turned to her with a smile she startled, suddenly extremely thankful he wasn't able to read her mind. Though her facial expression might have given something away, she thought with a panic as she tried desperately to think unsexy thoughts.  
He poked her side, making her giggle out of nervousness. Before he could ask her what she had been thinking about Jinx popped up, ushering the both of them to 'hurry up before we get our sweet asses roasted'.

Jinx claimed to need the Zoomer for 'very important business', though he failed to stipulate exactly what that business was. He was however kind enough to drop them off near her old place before he buzzed off, leaving the faint scent of tobacco and coffee trailing behind him. Jak seemed to be particularly relieved to see the last of the man, taking a deep breath. "Don't forget to show up tomorrow for a new mission, sweet cheeks!" Jinx yelled as he took a sharp turn to avoid a robot that seemed to have lost its way.

The trio made good speed towards Valentine's old place, thanks to Jak not taking any chances with robots that vaguely seemed like a threat. When the doors slid open, with a few hitches, they fell to coughing thanks to clouds of dust billowing out. "Oh boy, this place could use a clean-up. Or a clean-up crew, more like," Valentine managed to bring out, her eyes tearing up as she waved a hand in front of her face. Daxter started to sneeze so violently he flew of Jak's shoulder, the impact on the ground doing nothing to stop the sneezes.

They walked in, the security system announcing their names sounding oddly out of place as the dust settled down. Apart from the usual dust that gathered when people weren't in a home for a long time there was also the sort of dust that came from a home collapsing. Valentine's suspicions were confirmed when she noted how Jak's old bedroom was now a pile of rubble. Her own room had remained unscathed, thanks to the reinforcements she had made in case she changed without being able to control it. "Well, guess we know where we'll be sleeping," She said out loud, a pang in her stomach when she saw no signs of little Mar.

Jak was standing in the kitchen, mumbling something about there not being any dishes after all. She ignored the guys, who dug up some canned foods, and instead bent down to unlock the dresser where she stored all of the stuff that might have made her sentimental. Apart from a few keepsakes from her parents – a dented locket with their pictures and her dad's old screwdriver along with the casing of the first bullet her mother had fired – there were the picture books. She took out the top one almost reverently, smoothing the leather cover as she thought about what was in it.

Taking a seat in the now not so creamy white sofa she opened up the books, leafing through the pages. The other ones in the desk had pictures in them that uncle Vin had given her over the course of the years, but this one had pictures from after her escape. Not that she had been very keen on getting her picture taken mind, something which Torn had emphasized the one time he had looked through the book. She passed the picture where the both of them had an almost identical scowl on their faces.

And here the pictures with little Mar started. She bit the inside of her cheek when she passed the pictures where she had still been DE-girl, not believing she had ever dressed so garishly. He had snuck a picture of the first time she had attempted to cook for them, only memory serving to tell her the charcoal on the picture had been intended to be a piece of steak, with the vague white mess next to it the not so successful cake intended for dessert. Startled she realized her vision started to get blurred, causing her to rub her eyes violently. By the Precursors, she wasn't getting all weepy, was she?

Rubbing more violently she was startled by Jak placing a hand on her shoulder, both him and Daxter looking at her with worry in their eyes. "Something wrong?" he asked her, Daxter jumping on the sofa, releasing puffs of dust with every step.

Valentine shook her head violently, her ponytail swaying behind her. "No, I'm just being silly. I was thinking about little Mar and stuff… I mean, I'm just a bit… worried." Her eyes started to water up even more when she thought about how dangerous it was out there. "I'm supposed to protect him, and yet… he could be in danger, or cold, or sick." She snuffled, trying to calm down.

Jak took a big swallow, looking left and right in the room as if he was looking for something. He sat down, taking both her hands in his, covering them completely. He seemed serious, his eyes searching her face, looking for a clue. "Look, Val. There's something I have to tell you. You know, the secret I've been keeping? I knew you wanted to know, but I didn't really guess it was eating you up this much. You could say I'm really bad at estimating how much you worry about me."

Valentine frowned, blinking the tears away. "What are you talking about? Why would your secret be the cause of me being so damned weepy?"

Jak took a deep breath, closing his eyes for a moment. "Guess I should be happy you're sitting down already. Just hear me out, okay?" Seemed like it was time for all or nothing. He hoped that she'd believe him. He hoped this wouldn't screw things up. He waited until she nodded before he started.


	39. Love You Since Forever

|Valentine's old place|

His heart felt like it had leapt up into his throat and taken up residency there. Jak couldn't believe that he had started to confess everything, his brain trying to hightail it out of the situation by attempting to deny the facts. How Daxter was looking at him did not help either, since it managed to make him even more aware on what kind of dangerous ground he was treading. If he could just calm down a bit more…

"Val… Remember when I told you I came from the past, and you believed me?" he asked her, trying to set up a situation where she would be more inclined to believe he was speaking the truth.

She nodded slowly in response, her cheeks still wet from her earlier outburst. He removed one of his hands from hers, stroking it past the wetness. Crying for him, somehow she was always crying for him even if she didn't realize it. 

"I remember." The reply was slow and wondering. "But how-"

"What if I told you I was wrong?" Jak interrupted her. He had to finish what he had to say before something changed his mind. "What if I wasn't really from the past? What if someone had sent me there, when in reality I came from this place… this time!"

"Jak, what are you talking about?" Valentine demanded, panic rising in her eyes. Something had just started to dawn in that brilliant mind of hers.

"Val… I'm Mar," he blurted out, the words clumsy as they left his lips. "Samos will tell you the same thing, they sent me back so I could grow up safely."

Valentine's eyes widened, her mouth opening and closing without sound. Finally she managed to speak, her voice strangely contorted. "But… you can't be…" He could see on her face and hear in her voice how she was struggling to combine the innocent boy she remembered with Jak. He gripped her hands tighter, wishing she would believe him. "You're lying," She stated, flatly.

Jak shook his head as Daxter decided to jump on the small table next to the couch they were sitting on. "I'm not lying. Why would I lie about something like this? I'm Mar… I'll prove it to you. Just ask me anything… anything that the Kid would know and I wouldn't."

For the first time since Jak had known her Valentine looked truly lost. Finally she frowned, a hard look in her eyes. "What were the first words I ever said to little Mar?"

|Past|

The tall woman held his hand as they walked through the grey streets. For the second time in as many minutes she mussed over his hair, messy and sticking upright as they walked towards a place he remembered. It was the dark, cramped place underneath the ground with the man that always yelled at everyone. That meant he would be moved to a different family again, different people who would take care of him. Until some moment he would have to move again.

They never told him why he had to go away. All he knew is that they doted on him for as long as he stayed, until the moment came when he had to leave. They hardly ever protested, even if they thought he was 'sweet'. For some reason the being sweet was connected to him not being able to talk like the other kids. The woman told him to behave before the door rolled open.

At once they knew something was off this day. From below the stairs a voice could be heard, screaming. "I am not a fucking babysitter, you daft idiot!"   
His eyes grew bigger when he heard it was a girl yelling. Most of the time it was the guards who said mean things, but even they weren't like this. His caretaker let out a worried yelp, looking as if she couldn't decide if she should cover his ears or not. Deciding to make sure he wouldn't miss out on something that was Interesting – not like his usual life, when he wasn't even allowed to go outside – he ran down the stairs as fast as his little feet could carry him.

"I said no!" the girl yelled again. "Do you want me to trash this place?" she continued. Mar was down the stairs just in time to see the desk that was always in the middle of the room fly against the wall. His little mouth dropped open when he saw the girl that had done it, dark purple sparks flying off her in a flurry. Her breathing was hard, ragged, her fists clenched against her side. The angry man stood on his usual spot, arms crossed over one another.

"The Shadow thinks it would be best if you take care of the Kid. It's what your family used to do," He said, voice rasping in the muted light of the hideout. So far neither of them had spotted him. Mar decided to stand still, hoping the woman wouldn't come down just yet. This was after all something Interesting.

The girl laughed, sweeping her shoulder length hair back in the motion. "News flash, Torn. My family is dead. Besides uncle Vin, and I have to see him this afternoon, remember?" The girl turned around, her hand raised as if she was going to hit something again. Noting the small figure in the shadows she paused.

Torn spoke from behind her, his dark eyes fixed on the kid as well. "As far as we know, his family is dead too. And he needs someone who can protect him."

Their eyes met, and for once Mar was met not with a doting gaze but the stern look of a woman calculating how much trouble he could mean for her. Or she for him. The young boy looked back up, grasping the meaning of the words that connected the two of them. Death was a concept still too foreign for him, but he could understand the link the word had just forged between them. He knew he wasn't like the other boys. From what he had seen she wasn't like other girls either. He hadn't seen any of the women who took care of him throw a table against a wall like that.

"Kid can't talk either. So far we've been moving him between safe houses, but sooner or later he's going to get frustrated that nobody understands him. The Shadow said you needed something to take your mind off the rage," Torn continued, divining the looks both of them exchanged.

The girl let out a ragged breath, shaking. "Letting someone with an anger problem take care of the next ruler of the city. You guys are just full of brilliant ideas. Has it ever passed your mind that this kid-" she pointed at him, her breathing coming out in gasps. "- that this kid should be somewhere where he can be safe? As in, not with the psycho bitch that can and will turn into a bloodthirsty monster?"

Mar took a step closer to her. It was strange because he had seen people in this town who were sad and beaten, but he had never seen anyone so angry before. This was the first time he could see someone being outraged, the flush on cheeks that showed blood was flowing, pumping hot inside a body. There was a mind in there, raging and in turmoil. This was different from someone being beaten down by fate. Deep down inside he grasped that idea, and found it too enthralling. As he stepped closer to her, her eyes grew bigger.

She froze as he reached out his hand to hers. Her skin radiated heat, dark blue eyes looking down at him with something that was fear. She shook her head, tongue running past her lips. In that moment the both of them felt it, a connection that he would not have been able to explain even if he had been older and had had a voice.

"Valentine. Right now the safest place in the city will be with you. Someone comes after the Kid, you just go psycho on them. Teach them who they can mess with." Mar looked at Torn for a moment, his hand tightening around Valentine's fingers. With the immediate trust only children can bring up for that which they don't understand he bumped his head against her leg. Her other hand touched the top of his head, across that mop of unruly hair he would never outgrow.

|Present|

"Guess I'll be your family from now on," Jak answered her, the words feeling strange on his lips. The memory turned his heart into a nervous void in his chest. Her hands were cold now, shaking under his touch. Suddenly her hand lashed out, the slap ringing in the room. His head twisted to the side, the surprise numbing out the pain.

"No!" she shouted, pulling her other hand loose, wrapping them both around her ears. "You can't be Mar. You're not!" He touched her face, catching her in his arms before she could run away from him. Dread was spelled out across her face, a wild primal fear he couldn't place. "You can't be. Just… stop lying to me. You can't be him."

She refused to be pulled in his arms, and yet he had to force her to stay, to listen to him. "I'm not lying, Val. I'm Mar, and you're the one who protected me all the time. I remember, most of it anyway. The important bits, I'm sure I have all of the important stuff in me." He remembered most of the things they had done together, and those were the most important things. The stuff that had helped in making him the man he was now. "Why do you think I can't be Mar?"

Her dark blue eyes were frantic, denying the things she didn't want to know. "Because… Praxis hurt you. I promised, I would never let go of him. I'd protect him, but if you're Mar that means that…" her voice choked, her struggle died out. He finally got to hold her, her sweet voice muffled against his shoulder. "That means he hurt the boy I was supposed to look out for. I promised to take care of him."

Jak took her hands in his, the fingers interlacing as tight as possible without causing much pain. Just a little bit, to keep both of them grounded. His face still stung from the slap, but it was Valentine and he understood some of her distress.

|Past|

Three months later the weather had started to heat up once more, causing both Mar and his new protector to feel restless. Youth had a problem with being cooped up and the two of them were no different. For the first time Mar got to experience something he had never known before in his short life. The unconditional love of someone who would do anything to keep him safe, a love he didn't have to share or that he wasn't going to lose due to some twist of fate. Because the days had passed and there had never been a mention of her bringing him back to the hideout.

Sitting on the rock away from the busy market he tried to decide what his favorite part of everyday life was. Valentine figuring out sign language with him was fun, but so was sitting on the couch and being read a story. Not the stories about normal things, but stories about heroes and dragons, fast races and even some of Valentine's books. Those were stories about ancient temples with a lot of treasure. Maybe they could one day explore one of those, and find a hidden door. There would have to be a waterslide though.

Just as he decided his favorite time of day was when he would sneak in Valentine's bed – she would pretend to be asleep but still open her arms so he could nestle in – a shadow loomed over him. Looking up from his daydreams he was confronted by two Krimzon Guards, the creepy lights where their eyes were supposed to be focused on him.  
"Isn't this that kid the Baron is looking for?" one of them asked, the other reaching for some paper in one of the pouches on the uniform.

"Could be. Nobody really knows what the Kid is supposed to look like though," The one with the paper answered.

Mar swallowed, wishing he could cry out for help. Valentine was nearby, she was out buying some ice cream for the two of them because today was so hot. At least that was what he thought she was doing. He had slipped away because groceries were boring. One of the guards grabbed his arm, causing him to emit a faint squeak.

"Careful with that kid, what if he isn't who we're looking for?"

"Have you seen the hair, I'm sure it's just like-" Mar would never find out who had had the same hair as him, because in the next moment the guard slumped to the ground. The other guard shouted, met in the face by his partner's gun. The scuffle attracted the attention of the entire guard, the incident broadcasted all over the city. Valentine relapsed momentarily in her foul language, picking him up and breaking into a run before he had taken three breaths.

"Hold on, kiddo. It's going to get bumpy," She warned him. He never fully understood how she did, but for the first time he realized just how different his protector was from other people. Nobody else would be able to outrun the Guard so easily. For a young boy who longed for a hero, Valentine was the ultimate fit. Mar felt the pieces fall into place once more, adoration for the girl falling into one clear image.

If there was one person he could trust, it would be Valentine.

She hauled the both of them into a tarp-covered wagon, the thing creaking dangerously when they entered. He landed softly thanks to her maneuvering him in her arms, her body folding over him like a shield. Mar was shielded from harm, unaware of how Valentine was listening for guards that might decide to get smart.

When she released him from her grasp, the first thing he noted was how sweaty she was, how much she was shaking. The next thing Mar knew she had grabbed his small hands in hers, pressing them tightly. "Don't ever let go off my hand again. Do you understand?"

He nodded, unsure about what she wanted. "This is important Mar. Don't ever let go of my hand!" He nodded again, realizing she was fighting back 'the monster'. She never wanted to show him that, even if he was sure he wouldn't mind. He kept nodding, as hard as he could, to make sure she knew he understood her.  
It that was what it took to make Valentine happy, he would never let go of her hand, again.

|Present|

"I can't let you run away from me, Val. That's what you taught me, isn't it?" Jak said, overcome with the miracle that he could now say all the things his younger self never had been able to. Their hands were interlaced so tightly he doubted anything would be able to wring them apart. "I don't want to let go of your hand. Not just because that's what you told me. I need to be able to hold your hand, because you're what's been keeping me grounded to my sanity."

Her cheek stroked past his, the dampness of her tears against his beginning stubble. "You can't be Mar," she pleaded. She couldn't hit him again, but Jak didn't put a head-butt past her. "You were hurt so much. Please don't tell me…"

He gripped her hand tighter, eliciting a sob. She was pressed against him, her hands gripping his on their own volition now. "I can't help it either," He admitted, hoarse. "I can't say it's what I wanted, Val, but it could have been a lot worse. I can honestly say I've loved you since I was a kid."

She laughed, the kind of laugh people have when they're too busy being angry and sad to have room for another emotion. "I love you too. Dear Precursors, I love you too."

He found himself laughing, the nervousness and his own pent-up tears looking for a release. "Good. That's great. Have I ever said it's fantastic you love me? And I told you when I was a kid, I just forgot before I managed to get back here. But now I remember and here you are…" he was rambling and he knew it.  
Having Valentine love him was his oldest wish, and it had taken him so long to remember. So long before he had been able to see her again. And now his dear friend and protector were the same person and all he could think was that she had said she loved him.

Valentine moved away from him, the mix of emotions in her eyes too complex to read. She grabbed the back of his hair, braiding her fingers through it. Then she placed her forehead against his, letting it rest there. He breathed in and out, slowly, savoring her being here.

"Jak… Mar…" she added the last word with a sob. "I can't believe I actually believe you. But I believed you back then, so why shouldn't I believe you now?" Her hand stroked past his cheek. He took it, pressing it against his mouth for a moment. "I should have known, probably."

"Can't blame you for that," He replied, gently. It didn't look like she would be hitting him again.

"You're an idiot, you know that? Making me panic and lose my head like I was some girl in a drama show. When you told me you loved me all that time ago." She leant closer, not to kiss him but just to be near. "Tell me again. Please."

He relaxed, leaning against her. For now the biggest surge of emotion had passed. For the moment he could allow himself to savor being just close to the person that had been his protector and hero all those years, even when he had forgotten.

"Valentine… I love you most of all."


	40. Overthinking

|Valentine's old place|

Valentine stared at the bottle of whiskey intently, willing herself to not think about how complicated life had decided to get. She was also deciding whether or not actually drinking would be a smart idea right now. Just a single glass wouldn't do much harm, but she had learned in the past that Dark Eco and alcohol weren't a safe mix. Of course now there was the Light Eco to take into consideration. That might balance things out a bit.

But the bottle was not interesting enough to take her mind off of the thing that was bothering her most right now. Discovering that the man she was dating now had been the boy she had taken care of just a few years ago was mind-blowing. She believed him. How could she not, after the extensive amount of things he had told her to convince her? Some things were a little off – indeed like how a child would remember them – but most of the things were true.

She played with the glass on the table, happy Jak had gone off to bed already. She would have liked him to hold her, but at the same time she had to struggle with the idea she had been the one holding him all that time ago. She closed her eyes, letting her head lean back on the chair. "Fuck."

That one word summed up everything she was trying to process all at once. Disbelief and belief, sadness and anger and the rest of emotions that found their release in just that one word.

"What'cha doing, sugar?" Daxter asked, climbing up one of the chairs and then up the table. He took one look at the bottle on the table, squinting. As soon as he saw the bottle was still closed up he relaxed, taking a seat next to it. "Don't tell me you're going to try to drown the truth. Do you have any idea what could happen?"

Valentine raised her head back up, a wry smile on her lips. "Enough to say that this place wasn't reinforced until after I had my first drink."   
Daxter's arrival was enough of an answer for now. She tipped over the small glass with one finger. "The answer to my problems isn't on the bottom of a bottle." If only it were. Life would have been so much easier. She had kept the bottle safely stashed away, just in case she needed something to completely let go.

"Good, that'll leave more for me." He grabbed the bottle, opening it up with a movement that belied practice. When he noticed Valentine's look he shrugged. "Don't go judging me, Valentine. We both know I won't trash the place when I got a drink in me." He poured his glass to the top, eyeing her over the rim of the glass as he took his first sip. "Well, get talking."

"What about?" Valentine asked, trying to steer away from the subject.

It was Daxter's turn to smile, though his was less sour than hers. "With the information you just got, I expect your brain to be sizzlin' like an egg in the desert. And a bartender is more often than not just a really good shrink. I can't pour ya a drink, but I'll listen."

Great, Daxter wanted to listen to the small existential crisis she was having thanks to his best friend. What she really wanted right now was Ma'al offering to take her out to smash something. Anything, as long as it helped vent this frustration. She decided to take the playful route out. "How would you react when you find out you're actually a pedophile?"

"Nice try hon," Daxter countered, pouring his glass again. "But you're going to have to come with a better excuse than that if you want to break up with my guy."

"Break up?" she almost shouted, before she remembered Jak was asleep. "I don't want to break up with Jak, it's just that-"

"Why else would you be sitting in the dark, thinking about everything that is standing between the two of ya?" the Ottsel interrupted her, gesturing at the one measly lamp that was burning in the room. "You got stuff on your mind, so get it out of your system. You two aren't the sort that should be keeping things pent up."

"I'm twelve years his senior, Daxter."

"In this timeline. And once time travel gets involved you're better off shutting down that ginormous brain of yours. The more you think about it, the more it hurts the head." He tapped the side of his head to enforce his point. "Right now, you're both about the same age, physically and mentally. So what if ya got a guy who's had the hots for you since he was a kid? Next objection."

"You're oversimplifying things," She muttered darkly.

"You're making things too complicated," Daxter retorted. "Take it from me toots. Things can go downhill for you any time of the day. So why would you wanna turn away a good thing because of morals that only apply to normal people? You want Jak and he wants you. That pretty much solves the problem in my eyes."

Perhaps in Daxter's eyes everything was so simple. Then again, he didn't know that Mar was Damas' son. Which meant that Jak was actually the heir to Spargus. Which made her a sort of usurper. And as his Guardian she was supposed to eliminate threats like usurpers. When she realized she would have to inform Damos she banged her head against the table. How the hell was she supposed to make Damos believe her? He had never even seen his son, and now Valentine had to tell him he still had a son. Only he wouldn't have to bother worrying about puberty since Jak – Mar – had passed that point in the meantime.

"I don't know what you're thinking, but you're making things too complicated," Daxter told her.

She ignored him. How would she tell Damas about this? 'Hey pops, listen. I found your son. Only he's now roughly my age and we're dating.' Could someone spell looney bin? But she wanted to be with Jak so bad it almost hurt. "Shut up, Dax," She mumbled, her lips still pressed against the table. "I'm not making things complicated, they just _are_ complicated."

Daxter mumbled something that sounded like 'suit yourself', prompting Valentine to raise her head again. "Then what is your suggestion, oh great and powerful Ottsel?"

"Carry on like before," He replied immediately, not even looking up from the fourth glass he was pouring. "I've been listening enough to Jak pining after you, not to mention I had to watch you getting all starry eyed every time they mentioned his name. Cut the sidekick some slack and keep making out in dark corners. I enjoy knowing my best friend is happy, and I'd appreciate it if you could admit you're happy with him too."

"I am happy. But this kind of stuff is confusing."

Daxter grabbed his tail, swinging it back and forth a little bit. "Life is complicated. Just look at me. The only advantage I have is that I came out fluffy." He slid the glass towards her, raising his eyebrows. "You drink that up – it ain't even that much – and march your ass to the bedroom. Both of you should get some sleep. And no doing the nasty, I'm sleeping in there too."

Valentine obeyed his orders out of a wish to shut off the internal racket in her head. Would it really be too much to ask for just one normal day in her life?

|The Next Morning|

Surprisingly enough she had managed to fall asleep. She discovered this thanks to Torn's voice shouting from her communicator, waking her from a peaceful slumber. Daxter stirred, Jak tightened his arm around her for a moment, pulling her closer.

"Torn… what?" she asked, distracted by Jak burying his face in her hair. If he had the nerve to say 'five more minutes'…

"Why aren't the three of you at the HQ yet?" Torn demanded. For good order Valentine turned down the volume on her communicator, taking a moment to glance at the time. It wasn't even noon yet, and they had been exhausted. When she made that remark a strange sputtering sound came over the com system, as if Torn was strangling the air. "You three get your asses over there now. We have a war on our hands and no time for extracurricular activities."

Daxter moved his weight, slipping over the legs of his two friends as he did so. Valentine let out a soft groan. "I'll be sure to tell Ashelin that when I see her in a while. I thought Samos had that stick removed from your ass a long time ago."

A low growl coming from the other side made Valentine rethink her current life choices. "Fine, fine. We're getting up now. We won't be long in reaching HQ." Though that last part really depended on how fast she could get the guys out of bed. "I like you better when you're making us sandwiches though."

She was rewarded with a barking laugh and the sound of the com system being shut off. "Guys, it's time to wake up." Jak's response was pulling her as close as he could, while Daxter made a point of it to snore as loud as the average Metal Head. Valentine poked Jak in the ribs with her elbow, having very little effect since she nearly couldn't move her arms around.

"As much as I love a good cuddling session, we have to get going. Torn's right, there's a war going on." 

Daxter snorted, dropping off the bed in an attempt to find a more comfy position. The scream he uttered made it clear now she only had Jak to wake up. "Jak, get moving."

"No…" he mumbled, his voice thick with sleep. "Five… five more minutes…" he yawned in her ear. Valentine rolled her eyes at that reaction. His lips moved to her neck, making her pay attention at once. If they started going down that road there was a good chance HQ wouldn't get to see them at all that day. Not that that realization did anything to stop the tingling in her spine when Jak breathed in her ear.

The spell was broken when Jak kicked his leg, followed by Daxter sniggering. Valentine just barely managed to lift her head high enough so she could see what was going on. Apparently Daxter was using his tail to tickle Jak's feet, prompting the man to actually get out of bed and do something. She couldn't decide if she was happy with this development or not.

Remembering how complicated things had become had the effect of an ice cold shower on her. Perhaps she ought to sort out how she was going to solve things with Jak before things could develop further. She slipped out of bed when he released her, noting that there was barely enough Eco to get something hot to drink, let alone be able to take a shower. At least they didn't smell of sewer today.

Grabbing a pair of her old pants – none of her old clothes were fit for battle, but what choice did she have? – she locked herself in the bathroom to change, letting the guys fight things out among themselves. A look in the cracked mirror had her wondering if her hair was picking up the same gravitational denying power that Jak's had. Pulling down one of her increasingly stubborn bangs she let herself worry a bit more.

There had to be some way to break it to Damas gently. Sadly enough the man had a warrior's mindset concerning everything, so even if she did manage to scrounge up scientific proof, the only good it would do her was him putting her on inactive due to stress. She picked up a towel, pressed it against her mouth and screamed out of frustration.

"Val, you okay in there?" Jak shouted from the other end of the door.

"I'm fine," She yelled back, screaming in the towel again.   
'Just angsting about pretty much everything that has to do with you because you're the heir to Spargus and I'm supposed to protect you. But you insist on jumping into Metal pits with or without me so that makes the job a little harder. Not to mention your dad is now my adoptive dad which makes everything insane.' Of course she didn't say that out loud, but her head was already hurting with everything that was going on. She resisted banging her head against the door, afraid Jak would start to think something was seriously wrong. She still had to tell him that Damas was his father as well.

She hadn't even had breakfast yet!

When she opened the door she was met by her boyfriend who was holding some tins. "Good thing you always kept emergency rations around. These will be good for another fifty years, but I don't think I'll be able to wait that long."

They ate quickly, aware that any moment they delayed was another moment Torn could use to yell at them again. "Say, Val… everything's okay between us, right?" Jak asked her.

Valentine nodded, wiping her mouth with her sleeve. "Everything's great between us. It's just… I'm going to take a while longer before I'm really used to the idea, you know?"

He nodded, keeping his eyes on the tins as he collected them. "I know. It wasn't easy for me either when I found out. I already felt horrible, and then… well… I'd understand if you were still angry. I had that slap coming."

She got up quickly, surprising him by taking his face between her hands. He was taller than her now, if only slighter, she noted as she kissed him. The suddenness caused him to drop the tins in his hands, making her grin. "Don't talk like that. I shouldn't have slapped you. And let's be honest, this is not the weirdest thing that's happened to either of us."

He glanced down at the ground, at the dropped tins, before he looked back at her. "I guess not." He grinned when he thought about it again. "Okay, weirder stuff has happened."

"And once weird stuff like this stops happening… can you imagine how bored we'll be?" she added, bringing a smirk to his face. "Just imagine if we won't have people running to us, needing to be saved. What do heroes do when they're retired anyway?"

"We'll think of something," He promised her. "There's a lot of stuff to do. But we will be bored, no doubt about that," He laughed out loud all of a sudden. "But I'll pass on the pink house with the picket fence."

She let go of him, bending at her knees to pick up the tins. "We'll get some place cool. I'm going to need a little computer space of my own. And a man cave for you." Their eyes met as he knelt down as well.

"A man cave?" he asked. "You mean like your buddy Ma'al has?"

She chortled. "Nah. A place for yourself. Or for you and Daxter to share, whatever you want." They shared a moment of silence. "Jak…" should she say Jak still? Or should she say Mar from now on? She honestly didn't know. "I might have a secret myself too. When I figure out how to tell you, will you listen? Will you believe me?"

"You believed my crazy tale, didn't you?"

"Well, yeah. Of course I believe you. The truth is rarely what we want to be true, but I'm glad that it turned out like this, in a way. Now I know that Mar, that you, grew up to be a really great guy. You're a hero, you've saved a countless number of people," She couldn't help but sound proud when she thought about that. "Though I'm a bit sorry I missed out on your teen years, but I'm sure Daxter will want to fill me in pretty quickly if I ask."

"He better not," Jak replied, the horror of pimples and sudden body hair dawning back on him. He decided he could live with Valentine having seen him as cute and cuddly as long as she didn't have too much info on that period. "Is that the only thing you're happy about?"

She punched his arm playfully. "And that now I have one of the best boyfriends a girl could dream about. A guy that's the total dream package, with a dreamy smile and – let me know when I have to stop, because I might burst your ego if I go on like this."

They walked towards the front door, Daxter joining them before they left the room. Outside the streets were still as decrepit as they had been the day before, but Valentine found she couldn't care about that. Maybe Daxter had been right, maybe she was making things too complicated. Right now they were as they were, and there wasn't anything she could do to change them. Not that for her personally things had to change. They were better than she could have dreamed since the longest she could remember.

If she could go back in time she would go back to that young girl that had been captured by Praxis, and promise her that things would get better. So much better that she sometimes needed to pinch herself to make sure she wasn't dreaming. Sitting behind Jak on a Zoomer that had seen better days, Valentine let her head rest against his warm back. Life wasn't perfect, but at least for now it was good for her and Jak. She still had a thousand things to worry about, but at least the both of them wasn't one of those things.

One of those things however was the fact that Torn was once again screaming through the communicator. Well, that was life for ya.


	41. HQ

|HQ|

"No, we passed a bunch of really lovely trees. Who did you guys get to decorate while I was gone?" Valentine talked to Torn over the communicator as they rode the elevator up, every once in a while making a face at Daxter who reciprocated readily. They collectively cringed when Torn told her to shove those trees somewhere inappropriate. With the current situation Valentine decided to stash any other witty comments on a shelf until Torn could smile again. Granted that a war was serious business, but he had everyone wishing for a new Metal attack.

When the doors opened they were welcomed by a bunch of greetings and a really old-looking Samos who told them they could have been quicker about the entire thing. Valentine eyed him over before she saw Daxter shrugging at her. Damn that time-travel, things were getting more and more confusing as time passed.

"Well, we only had a war in the way." Jak commented, looking very uncomfortable with so many of his friends all saying hello at the same time.

"Pecker?" Valentine asked, seeing the hybrid in the HQ while he was supposed to be back in Spargus. "What in the world are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be playing advisor?"

"Playing?! I never play advisor, I _am_ an advisor!"

"Valentine, that better be the HQ I'm hearing over here!"

She quickly handed Ashelin the communicator, figuring if there was one person around who would be able to defuse Torn it would be her. Then she turned back to the brightly colored monkey. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but shouldn't an advisor be with the person he's supposed to be advising?"

Pecker let out a squawk at that. "And shouldn't the King's adopted daughter – and general of the city – be at the side of said person? You are in big trouble missy, you and Jak and that nasty rodent."

"Hey!" Daxter yelled loudly from the other side of the table.

"Well, it's not like we ended up here on purpose," Valentine retorted, crossing her arms. "As I recall things, this all started out like a date. Now we're in the middle of a war."

"That's another thing Damos would like to have a word with you about, once you get back safely to Spargus," Pecker told her, flying safely out of reach. "And he would like you back in one piece as well."

"Maybe after we're through stuffing you in a pillow;" Daxter made clear, making his way closer to his self-elected enemy.

Ashelin scraped her throat, successfully getting the attention of everyone in the room. "How about we only start killing our allies after we kill our enemies?" she suggested with a thin smile as she tossed Valentine's communicator across the room. As everyone looked on she marched over in front of Jak, formally saluting him.

"As the Governor of the city, let me be the first to officially apologize for everything." This single line was enough to make Jak freeze into place, as that was the last he had had in his mind when he walked into the building. He held out his hands in front of him as if he wanted to physically ward off the formal situation.

Valentine shook Ashelin's hand when the woman turned to her, partly as defense against any formal apologies and partly because that was just what the woman deserved. "This is the first time I can say thank you, isn't it? Thank you, Ashelin Praxis. You saved my life back then."

Ashelin made an attempt to wave the thanks away, seeming a tad bashful all of a sudden. "I'm not the only one who helped you then. Jared was there as well, so be sure to give him a thanks when you see him."

"Speaking of Jared, where is he?" Valentine wondered out loud, looking around. The lanky programmer did deserve some thanks, especially after the fright she and Jak had put him through all those years ago.

"Well…" Keira started, startling Valentine by appearing next to her. "We've been working together recently. He's the one that designed the new city look, and we made a good start before the war flared up so heavily. I'm in charge of the traffic grids," The woman admitted, her eyes tracing up to Valentine's cheeks, never quite reaching higher.

"Ah…" Valentine started, her heart jumping in her chest when she realized Keira of all people was talking to her. She shot a quick look at Jak, who proved to be of great assistance as he shrugged and went to talk with Samos. So much for getting help from that corner.

"It's nice to hear that you found something you can help with?" Damn it, that wasn't supposed to be a question, nor had she wanted it to sound like some kind of criticism. "I mean, I heard you're really good with cars." Okay, that was better. Not conversational genius great, but at least not sounding like an unsure condescending idiot. Were there any manuals for this sort of thing?

Keira nodded, neither of the women looking each other in the eye. Eventually she surprised Valentine by thrusting out her hand, looking at the table as she spoke. "Look, I still don't really like you. I don't think I ever will. But I do know I've been rather unfair when it came to you, and I said some things that were awful. I'm not asking to be friends. But I just wanted to say…"

Valentine grabbed the hand of her former rival, the knot in her stomach temporarily intensifying. "Don't say sorry." Keira looked up with big eyes, her mouth forming a small 'o'. Valentine continued to talk, not wanting to mess up now. "I mean, I wasn't exactly miss sunshine around you either. We both made mistakes. So yeah… I understand. I feel the same way."

The knot in her stomach untangled as they shook hands, looking each other in the eye for a brief moment. She felt shaky, as if she had just gotten away from a Metal King. The way Keira looked at her suggested the other woman might be feeling the same thing.

They would probably never be best friends. And that was okay, because it was silly to force things that could never be. But now this was resolved, Valentine realized how much it had been eating away at her from the inside. She took a deep breath, feeling lighter somehow.

As she turned around she saw Jak studying the both of them, together with Samos. When she and Keira both asked 'What?' the hero turned around in a hurry, clearly not intending on interfering with anything his ex and his current girlfriend were up to. Valentine chuckled, hearing a soft giggle from Keira. Well, perhaps they could be something more than acquaintances. Possibly.

She wondered for a moment between adding Keira to the list of things she would have to get sorted out eventually, or ignore for the time being. Her moment of thinking was interrupted by Samos who took a seat next to the main control panel, patting the seat next to him. She sat down, a moment of silence between them.

"You look different from the last time I saw you," she finally offered, guessing that perhaps he had been the one to go with little Mar to the past.

Samos smiled, looking up at the woman he had not seen for so long. "Well, it's been almost two decades since we last met from where I'm sitting."

She let out a deep sigh, pulling up her leg to rest her head on the knee. On the other side of the room fur and feathers were flying about as Daxter and Pecker once again got better reacquainted. "So, you did go with Mar to the past then?"

"I did." He looked at Keira for a moment with a soft expression on his face as his daughter attempted to get the two fighting animals away from each other. "I can't say I ever regretted the decision. I knew you'd be worried though. But I also knew that you would find him, eventually. The whole deal tends to leave you very secure about some events."

Valentine hummed, not sure what else there was to say. Samos spared her the trouble. "You've done good while you were away, girl. I've heard everything about what you were up to while we haven't seen you. I'm proud of you."

"Don't be like that, sir," She mumbled, scratching the back of her head. "I never would have turned out like this if it hadn't been for you. You're the one that snapped me out of it, weren't you?"

"If all problems could be solved with a few knocks on the head and some kind words, Daxter wouldn't be in his current state. Still, it warms my heart to know that you still remember I was the one who knocked some sense into you. Verbally at least. I remember Torn being the one who tried to physically teach you manners."

Valentine threw her head in her neck as she laughed. Most of the times she had been the one who'd be thrown on the floor when Torn decided she had gone too far, like a pup taught manners by a wolf. He'd always been careful when she was on the point of transforming however. "I was so much trouble. Torn would constantly complain about the costs of feeding me. That's why I got that job as a singer in the first place, remember?"

Samos shook his head, pointing at the display. "Right now singing isn't going to do us any good. We know there's a huge dark planet builder heading towards the planet. We're going to need some real heroes to defend us once more."

"Now THAT sounds like you could use some muscle from yours truly," Daxter replied, flexing his arms as he dangled upside down in Keira's grip.

Samos ignored the comment. "We have no idea how long it will be until it's in range to execute whatever it has planned. If it is rogue Precursor technology the only way to get rid of it is by using more Precursor technology, which could be found at the bottom of the catacombs."

Valentine stood up to have a better look at the display. "Could this be that Day Star the monks were talking about?" she asked the people in the room.

"Could be," Keira answered, toggling up some new screens with statistics. "Someone is moving around Eco Crystals in such vast amounts, we're practically sure they're trying to get down in the catacombs."

"Well, I think Veger is behind it. Or Erol," Jak started, scratching his cheek. "We saw Erol back with Torn when he jammed your signal, and Veger tried to ambush us on the way here."

"Whoever is behind it, we can't let them get their hands on what's in the catacombs. The last thing we need is someone with bad intentions getting their hands on volatile equipment," Ashelin announced, glaring around the room to see if anyone wanted to argue with that.

"So what, we march into the catacombs ourselves?" Valentine asked, looking around the room as well.

"Excellent point," Samos interjected. "We were hoping that Jak would be willing to lead an expedition there. If there is one person who has experience with this kind of research it would be him."

Jak raised an eyebrow at that. "Well, sure, I'll go check it out. But I don't want to drag an entire group of people with me. It could be dangerous."

Valentine nodded rather furiously when she heard that. The escapade with the 'cars' down in the catacombs hadn't slipped her mind just yet. The discussion was halted when the double doors leading inside the command center opened.

Veger strutted inside, one hand stuffed in his pocket while he held his staff in the other. The man looked around the room haughtily, scanning each occupant as his gaze finally lingered on Jak. "I can see the freak show has returned to town. Why is this abomination in here?"

"Hey, it's Vulgar again! No, wait, was it Victor? Ulcer? Vulture?" Daxter started, dangling from Keira's grip as he spoke.

"Veger, you little rodent, it's Veger!" The tall man snapped, before he regained his cool. "Are you all sure you want a mutation to lead an expedition into the catacombs? If there is one person who can be trusted with a task of such reverent proportions it would be myself."

"Ooooh, so that's why you tried to kill us a while back," Daxter interrupted, not looking very convinced. "He sent this huge robot thing after us, after he gave a huge speech about the dangers of sunlight."

Valentine tried her best not to facepalm. "Daxter is right, he did try to kill us. And seeing as how that directly endangered the life of the heir to the Spargan throne, that could be viewed as a reason to consider him a dangerous person who should be incarcerated." Veger had in fact endangered Jak's life, though everyone assumed she was talking about herself when she mentioned that. "What I'm saying is, lock him up."

"We're tired of your schemes, Veger," Ashelin said, shaking her head at the new information.

Veger seemed to be unaware things were going awry for him. "I have the answer we have all been looking for. My Precursor Monks have given me everything I need to know to turn on the planetary defense grid. All you need to do is follow me…"

Valentine shot over the table, grabbing Veger by his red tie before he could blink. "Where is Seem? What have you done to her?"

"Get this madwoman off of me!" Veger commanded, struggling to break loose from her grip. He coughed a few times when Ashelin and Jak pried her loose, though neither of them seemed quite enthusiastic about the job. "It is none of your concern where Seem is."

"She's my friend, so of course it's my concern, you hoity-toity piece of gilded dandy!" Valentine shouted, the only thing keeping her from sucker punching the Count the two people who were restraining her.

"We trust Jak," Keira said in an attempt to diffuse the situation. "He's always gotten us through things. I'm sure he'll do it again."

This was followed by a chorus of agreement. Ashelin let go of Valentine's wrist, stepping up in front of Veger. Hands placed on her hips she glowered at the man who had permitted himself such freedoms. "As the governor of Haven City, I hereby dissolve the City Council and strip you of your titles, privileges and command."

"How dare you?" Veger demanded, raising himself up to his full length. "I offer you mercy, I offer you my enlightened guidance and you turn me down to wallow in a cesspool of corruption? The lot of you are fools who don't deserve to be saved."

"Let me punch him once, please?" Valentine pleaded with Jak who seemed sorely tempted to act just like her. The both of them were stopped by Samos' stern looks.

"You will all burn in the fires that will render this planet to its supreme and wonderful form! I swear it," Veger ended his threat, looking every person present in the room dead in the eye. Jak tightened his grip on Valentine's arm, fighting the urge to just knock the man out and be done with it.

When he had left the room, everybody shook their heads. "We all do realize him not having his official title is not going to stop him from acting like a religious nutcase?" Valentine asked, scrunching her nose. She would have given her computer privileges of a month to know where the monks were. Or what Veger was planning. There was no way Seem would have given him anything if she had known Veger was insane.

"I can't afford to arrest him without tangible proof he's out of control," Ashelin said, wiping her red dreadlocks back. "The city is in a bad enough shape as it is, we can't afford people rallying together because they think Veger is somehow innocent."

"Pfeh…" Valentine uttered when Jak released her. "What can we do then, before we go back to Spargus?"

Keira pulled up a new screen, this one showing pictures of the floating factory that was rather hard to miss no matter where you were in the city. "This floating war factory has been spewing out Death Bots every single day. No matter how many we kill, they're always replaced within hours. If you really are interested in helping, it would mean a great deal if you could sabotage the factory."

"So, we fly up there, make it go boom and we're back out?" Daxter asked, not seeming too impressed.

"That would be the idea," Keira agreed. "But the factory is shielded and requires access codes at every point. We're sure they're using an old Krimzon Guard cipher, but we haven't had much luck finding out which one. It seems like Vin was the person who designed most of these, so first we need someone to go check out his old Power Room."

"Makes sense. Uncle Vin was the best when it came to security," Valentine agreed. She supposed being paranoid provided an extra incentive to be creative when it came to protecting yourself.

Jak nodded, rolling his shoulders. "At least we got a good night's sleep, since this sounds like it's going to be another busy day for us. Dax, Val, you two up for this?"

Daxter at once climbed back to his usual spot, Valentine walking over next to Jak. It would be good to visit Uncle Vin's station. She would have a chance to say some sort of goodbye to the man who had raised her as best as he could.

"Leave it to the three of us. We'll have this city saved in no time!" Daxter promised, giving everyone a thumbs-up.


	42. Uncle Vin!

Valentine toggled up a map to see what the best way would be to get to her uncle's old place. All over the map piles of rubble were shown, along with the most recent enemy activity. For as far as she could see there wasn't a route out there that would take them less than days to get by.

"Ugh, this is horrible! What happened to decent roads?"

"Only a war," Keira said in an attempt at a joke. When Valentine didn't react the way she should at a joke the woman continued.

"Anyway, it's not that big of a disaster. HQ has been designing some underground roads for the time being, so we don't have to clear the rubble after every attack. Also the rubble helps keep the smaller robots away from here, which means we have to spend less resources on keeping them out."

Valentine puffed up her cheeks, trying to figure out how Keira was handling the monitor as the new underground roads popped up. Things had continued to develop while she was out in the desert and though she didn't like to admit it she was really having trouble keeping up with this piece of machinery. Not to mention the new infrastructure was pretty impressive.

"Wow, you and Jared designed all of this?"

"Well, Jared did most of the work. Like I said, I mostly make sure the traffic grids are placed in a way that's convenient and effective. Maybe when Spargus finds the time we could come over and install grids there?"

Valentine shook her head. "Won't work. All of the sand would clog up the Zoomer engines, which is why we use the Leapers and the buggy cars. Damos showed me some footage from way back, when they tried to implement the Zoomers like in Haven. I never saw something blow up so fast as that thing."

"Hmm… well, I'll upload this map to your communicator. You should be able to make it to the station in less than twenty minutes," Keira promised, starting the download as she spoke. It was silent for a moment between the two women.

Valentine couldn't believe that they were actually having a polite conversation without dirty looks. Like… wow.

"Say… take care of Jak, okay? He doesn't look like it, and he'll never admit it, but he really does need someone who makes sure he doesn't walk right into his own death," Keira finally said, scratching the back of her head as she did so.

Slightly taken aback Valentine looked back at Jak, who had just accepted a backpack from Ashelin, who took the opportunity to lecture him on proper gun usage. "I will. And yeah, he does need someone to watch his back. I mean, Jak just runs into any kind of situation while thinking he'll come out just fine."

Keira nodded at those words. "Tell me about it. Every time there was something going on back in Sandover he was the first one to take a closer look, Daxter right behind him. It was hell."

The two women laughed shyly, before Valentine decided to say goodbye. That moment was perhaps more awkward than anything that had preceded it, thanks to neither of them knowing exactly how they were going supposed to part now. An uneasy wave and an almost hug later Valentine gathered her two guys and they were riding down the elevator, on their way to the station.

"This war has been interesting up until now," She finally stated, massaging her temples. Apart from her and Keira not being after each others guts anymore, there was still the whole Jak equals Mar issue. She didn't think her brain would ever be able to survive that.

Jak nodded, getting out of the elevator at the ground floor. "Tell me about it. Things have been one surprise after the other. And we still should have captured Veger or something."

"Yeah, screw public opinion. I mean, they're the ones that let us be kicked out of the city in the first place, so why should we care about what they think? And let's be honest, who in their right mind would think Veger is one of the good guys?" Daxter chimed in from his usual spot on Jak's shoulder.

Valentine kept a close eye on their route to be followed on her communicator, the pathway lit up by bright lamps at the sides. "Because Ashelin still has to have a city left after all of this is over. And the monks seem to think Veger is a good guy."

Or at least they thought so up until recently. She had known that the monks believed the Death Star or whatever they called, and it was bad news. She just hadn't known that it was 'end of the world, run for your life' bad news.

Seem was probably safe. Probably. The monk had her own brand of smarts and a good dose of common sense to boot if you could look past the religious bit. But the Precursors were welcome to make sure one of their most devout followers were safe if Valentine was concerned.

"You're thinking too much again," Jak told her, giving her a soft nudge with his elbow.

"Am not. And how would you be able to tell?" she replied, crossing her arms over one another. The place was rather chilly.

"You always have this look on your face, like you're going to kill the next person that talks to you on your face when you're thinking," Daxter pointed out with a big grin. Which was not the smartest thing to do if there had been a possibility she might actually go through with her murderous intentions.

Jak coughed. "I was just going to say something about the way you scrunch your nose when you're thinking."

That made her smile. She rewarded Jak with a kiss on the cheek, ignoring Daxter's offhand comments. They entered one of the elevators where she stuffed her hands in her pockets. "Well, who wouldn't be thinking everything over in these circumstances?"

"Me," Daxter answered.

"I'm not so sure that's a compliment to yourself, Dax," Jak said, shaking his head at his best friend.

"That depends entirely on where you're standing. And I've always been a big fan of the ignorance is bliss point of view," Daxter clarified at once, looking pleased with himself for that to boot.

The two guys kept jabbering between themselves which suited Valentine fine for the moment. She liked to brood things over and that was hard when people were constantly asking you what you were doing. All too soon they reached Uncle Vin's old station, where the doors refused to open no matter how many four-letter words Daxter unleashed upon them.

"I've generally found technology never that impressed with those parts of anatomy," She told Daxter, who called the door a 'twit' just for safe measure. She looked at the small number pad next to the door, thinking about what her uncle would have used as a password. She ruled out birthdays and the like immediately. He had been the first to really hammer it into her head that if you wanted your stuff hacked that was just the type of password you needed.

The same went for any important date in the city history, combinations of names of people her uncle liked and his favorite equations.

"Val, you okay?" Jak asked her when she didn't start typing in numbers right away.

"I'm fine. I'm just trying to think like uncle." Which wasn't that easy. She had never quite progressed that far on the path to general paranoia as that good man had. Maybe a little, considering her home security system at the time.

Daxter snorted when he head that. "You do not want to be spending any time in Vin's old brain. He was a special brand of crazy."

She flipped the rodent on the nose for that comment as she kept mentally raffling off numbers that might have been special to her uncle. Finally she tried the day she had escaped the Baron, but that didn't pull through. Nor any of the other days she could remember doing anything special. Which meant that she was looking at things the whole wrong way.

Who else had been important for her uncle? He hadn't had a lover as far as she knew off. The only person he had ever felt completely comfortable with that she knew of had been her mother.

Knowing better she entered her mothers birth date, coming up with the expected ACCESS DENIED. What would have been a day that had been engraved in her uncle's memory for the rest of his life, but would have also been a date few other people would ever consider to be important?

A sudden lump in her throat formed as she dialed in the date her mother had died. ACCESS GRANTED flashed over the screen, momentarily blurred by tears. He had always said she looked like her mother, even though she thought more like her father. She wiped her eyes with a sleeve. "Dammit."

Jak was by her side in less than a heartbeat as she walked inside. "Val, you sure you're okay?"

"I'm fine. Just that… uncle was such a huge sap. I wish I could have said goodbye better than I did back then," She said, taking deep breaths so she wouldn't burst out in tears there and then. Her jaw quivered, betraying how she felt. Jak held her about the waist in case she needed support.

Daxter started talking with his usual tact. "Well, maybe it's for the best you didn't open that can of worms. Let's be honest here, if I didn't know you better I'd say cray cray ran in the family and-"

"Watch the way you're talking to my niece there!" Vin's voice suddenly reverberated through the room, a holograph of his face appearing in the air. The head floated back and forth, before flying closer to Daxter.

"YIKES!" the orange creature cried out, running for cover behind Jak's legs.

"Vin!"

"Uncle Vin!"

Vin's head retreated a bit, looking around at both of the heroes who seemed to be very happy to be seeing him back. "Valentine! Oh, I never thought I was going to be seeing you again! You're looking wonderful my girl. Did you get a bit of a tan while you were gone?"

"Uncle! You're… well… how are you… what?" Valentine stammered, not able to keep up with the way things were evolving at the moment. Family members didn't exactly raise themselves up from the dead every day of the year.

"Why are you still alive?" Jak blurted out, feeling just as confused. Daxter was still hiding behind his friend, not sure if he wanted to get more involved in this or not.

The holograph spun in the air for a moment, flickering in and out of existence. "Well, it's a funny story really. Right before the Metal Heads got into the station I managed to fuse my brain with the Eco pool in the station. Oh, life has been a blast since then. I'm never bored, and those monsters can't get me in here. Can they?"

Valentine thought back about how poorly Ma'al and Meta responded to technology that wasn't a weapon. "I think you're safe in there. But… I still don't get it."

"Oh, I got the idea from you. You injected yourself with the Metal DNA, and of course you and Jak are both fused on a basic level with the Eco. So I thought, what if that kind of thing runs in the family? I was looking into the research for a while, though the invasion really did speed things up for me," Vin explained, zooming this way and that in the room.

"Why didn't you tell anyone you were still alive?" Jak asked, following the floating head.

"Oh, why would I want to do that? I mean, with Valentine gone I didn't have any family left around here. And people were already having trouble rebuilding the city, it's not like they needed to be worrying about me on top of that," Vin said, his head zooming closer to Valentine.

"I'm happy you're doing okay, uncle," She said, smiling at the holograph. Sure, it was weird and unconventional, but she had accepted stranger things in the past week.

"I'm doing way better than okay. But what are you guys doing in here? I never expected anyone to come back in here, so I was really surprised when someone cracked the code," The head said, floating around the three to take a good look at them.

"We need to get into that floating war factory. Only problem is, it's protected by some cypher," Jak explained, moving closer to Valentine.

Vin's head nodded in the air, a picture flaring up in the air next to him. Closer inspection revealed large red vehicles moving back and forth. "Oh, I know all about that place. I have live footage from all over the city so there's no way anything can escape my attention. But why would you want to go up a dangerous place like that?"

"To put a stop to those robots it keeps spitting out every day. Ashelin told us thing are getting worse by the day and the Freedom fighters could really use a break. I don't suppose you would be able to just disable the bots the moment they land?" Valentine explained, taking a seat next to the dusty dashboard.

The holograph her uncle used disappeared to reemerge next to her, shaking wildly in the air. "Absolutely negatory. That floating factory doesn't have any connection points to the main land and we both know I need some sort of relay point if I want to hack them. The robots don't even have a communication station for anything other than the factory, and I've checked. I thought it would be fun to ride one of those things around for a bit, but alas."

"That means we still need to get up there, right?" Jak asked just to be sure. He could recognize bad news no matter what form it was delivered in.

"Completely correct. The way things are now, I couldn't even get you the floor plans for the thing. And as for the cyphers…" Numbers started to zoom past on the screens in the background, turning the entire room in a flickering chaos.

"Well, I started working on that as soon as I heard why you are here. It's way in the main access frame of the old Krimzon Guard records. My old mentor used to help designing those things and he was one mean son of a bitch. I can't hurry too much if I don't want to get my circuits fried."

Valentine brushed away some of the dust from the keyboard. "Anything I can do to help?"

Vin shook his head as he flew over to where Daxter was still keeping a watchful eye over things. "No, nothing you can do my dear. But Daxter here could really help me out if he was to take care of some of the bug nests that have been nesting behind the main console. They're making me itch something awful."

Daxter waved out both his arms wide, taking a very recognizable 'nope' position. "No thanks. I know what the bugs in this city look like. I'm not in the mood to get closer to any of them. Those creepy crawlies… anything with eight legs is six too many!"

"Well, you don't HAVE to help me," Vin said, casually showing the first few seconds of a video on the screen, pausing when Daxter took note. Valentine noted a roaring fireplace behind the Ottsel accompanied by one of his more suave smiles.

"In the meantime we could always watch this video I found hanging about the web. I'm sure you won't mind."

"No, no, NO!" Daxter shouted, clambering up the monitor, trying to hide as much from the view as possible. "This is top classified information. Only two people in the entire world are allowed to view this and none of them are you guys. Pull that down Vin!"

Vin chuckled. "I sure would like to, but I'm afraid that itch is so bad… I don't think I'll be able to concentrate for long enough. Maybe I should just press Play and see what happens…"

"Fine! I'll do it! I'll take out your bugs for you. For crying out loud." Daxter searched around a bit before finding an old newspaper that had been lying there ever since the station had been closed. As he rolled it up he sent a poisonous look towards the hologram, not pleased with the blackmail he was currently suffering from.

"This is no way to treat a friend, Vin!" he shouted, disappearing in the mass of coils and electric sparks.

"Just to be clear… how bad do we not want to see that video?" Jak asked, casting a furtive glance to the frozen screen.

Vin blinked, realizing he still had the video up on the screen. After pulling it down he answered, "Well, that depends. If you're researching animal behavior I can assure you that video could be invaluable to researches. But as close friends with Daxter I would have to say-"

"That it's none of your fucking beeswax Jak! I won't ask about any of your business if you'll stay away from mine," Daxter's voice sounded muffled from wherever he was at that moment, every once in a while a dull twhack interrupting his words.

Vin shook his head. "Which is exactly why I always tell people they shouldn't send that sort of stuff through anything with a memory system. But in this instance I couldn't be happier, since now my itch is clearing up. I've had that for months now."

Valentine shook her head in wonder, amazed at how Vin had been able to pinpoint that particular video from who knew how many were floating around. "Uncle, you are a wonder. Any progress on those cyphers?"

"You'll have them in a few minutes, dear. Why don't you tell me about all of your adventures while I'm searching?"


	43. Factory Mayhem

"That is all just wonderful. I always thought you were more like your father, but it turns out that you got quite a bit from my side of the family too!" Vin exclaimed, prouder than Valentine had ever seen him after they had finished telling him everything that had happened.

She grinned, trying to seem as if it wasn't all that big of a deal. "Thanks Uncle. And I got a ton of research done on the whole Metal Head situation so if you'd like I could easily get that info in the Haven system before you can say mega-byte."

If it had ever been possible for a hologram to turn pale she could have sworn that was what her uncle did at that moment. "No thank you, my dear. After the whole invasion of the city I can't quite say I'm that fond of them. Not that I ever was. I'm sure you have done some admirable research, but I- I simply… well, you understand, don't you?"

Her smile grew lopsided as her uncle stuttered his way through the sentence, blinking around the room as if that would make him more understandable. "I get it. I'll just keep researching them on my own."

"Vin, haven't you thought about contacting the HQ? I'm sure they would love your help," Jak offered, gesturing to the room. "I know you didn't want to bother anyone, but people would be happy to know you're alive."

He just managed to swallow the 'and kicking' part of his sentence, not sure if that would be an appropriate remark. He hadn't exactly counted on this sort of in-laws when he started dating Valentine. And they would still have to tell Damas. Maybe the man would be more understanding to his recent daughter dating if he saved the world, again.

Vin blinked around the room as he started to transfer the necessary cyphers to the HQ, trying to look extremely busy. "Well, I'm not going to say I never thought about it. But let's be honest here, what can I contribute to the fight? I don't even have a body for crying out loud, and I've never been a very decent shot."

Daxter appeared from behind the consoles, looking grimier than ever. "And I for one couldn't be happier about it. You could have shot us the first time we saw ya."

Jak gestured to Valentine, trying to clarify his thoughts in a way Vin would understand. "Well, look at Val. She wasn't a fighter either - no offense, Val - but she still managed to help out the Underground best she could, and so did you. You don't have a body anymore, but you can still do what you used to. Can you?"

More flickering as the hologram appeared next to Jak. "Well, I could almost say I've become better at what I do. Used to do. Could do. But I don't want to get in the way."

"Uncle, you've helped a lot of people. I'm sure you could help save the city again," Valentine interjected, hoping that the man would see reason. The more she had heard about what was going to happen to the planet the worse their prospects seemed. Veger was an idiot, but that didn't mean he couldn't be dangerous. And there were a ton of other things that could spell doom for everyone. They still had to find out where Erol was as well.

Vin bit on his lip, eyes flashing between the corporal beings in the room. "I suppose I could contact Ashelin. She's the one in charge now, isn't she? Maybe I could offer some help. I do have a few skills at my disposal."

"Uncle Vin, I could just kiss you!" Valentine shouted, though the lack of a body to kiss stood in the way of such an act.

The hologram chuckled. "Thank you, Valentine. I'll send them a message right away. Oh, don't forget to use the cyphers to get up there. And be careful!"

Jak shrugged, a cocky grin on his face. "Please, Vin. We're heroes. It's not like anything bad can happen to us."

Valentine shook her head at the bravado. You'd think that after all this time Jak would know just about how poorly things could go when he stopped paying attention. She poked him in the side, making him double over in surprise. "What Jak is trying to say is that he will do his best to make sure nothing happens to anyone. Right Jak?"

"Yeah, that's what I meant," He agreed after seeing her raised eyebrow. He rubbed the spot where she had poked him, making her resist the urge to roll her eyes at him. She hadn't poked him that hard.

They said their goodbyes to uncle Vin, only to be surprised by a familiar face when they were outside.

"Goldilocks! Did you miss me?" Jinx's face was revealed through a haze of cigar smoke. He was sitting behind the steering wheel of one of the newly painted HQ combat vehicles. "Like the paint job? Torn said he wanted to keep it like this, which is why I'll be doing the driving."

Jak scowled at the remark. "Jinx, what are you doing here?" He had not forgotten how Jinx had behaved the last time he had seen the man.

"Following orders, same as you. They want me to bring the three of ya all the way up to the factory, and I haven't got all day. Hop in."

Valentine placed her hand on Jak's arm, feeling his warmth underneath her hand for a moment. "There's no need to be jealous," She whispered in his ear. When he rolled his eyes, clearly intent on making clear she was imagining things she continued. "Yes, it is that obvious. But there's no need."

"Helloooo, love birds? If you want you can continue business while we're on the way, but get in the car," Jinx urged them, lighting a new cigar.

Valentine shuddered, not too keen on having an audience when she and Jak would finally have some time alone. "Yeah yeah, here we are."

"No really, what are you doing here?" Daxter asked the man, squeezed in the middle with Valentine while Jak preferred the outside seat. Valentine suspected he thought she might accidentally tip out of the car. Which had only happened one time, so the fear was practically ungrounded.

Jinx sucked his cigar, clearly deriving a sense of peace from it. "Turns out that computer gizmo the two of you just sent to HQ disables the outer defenses, except for the towers. You'll need someone to steer while someone else shoots and I happen to know that you were lacking one of those elements."

Jinx winked at Valentine, letting her know exactly who he was referring to.

She crossed her arms over one another, looking up at the sky with a huff. "Pfeh, I can do plenty of things. So what if I can't drive a car."

Jak squeezed her knee. She loved his smile, but sometimes it got just a little too self-assured for her tastes. Sadly enough her preferred method of wiping that grin of his face would probably bring a grin on Jinx' face so big there would be a chance the man would split his face in two.

Daxter made sure to keep a tight grip on her hand, not feeling too confident with the way Jinx was taking turns. When they approached the floating factory automated Zoomers started to head their way. Before anyone could say something the vehicle made a nosedive. Valentine was pressed against the chair, keeping her lips pressed tightly together. She got around by flying with Meta for crying out loud, she wouldn't be make a fool of herself by screaming in this situation. But boy, did that ground come close really fast or was it just her?

The way Jinx yanked up the vehicle wasn't any better, going in a spin to boot. "Jinx, this bloody thing doesn't have safety belts!"

"I know, isn't it great?" he shouted back at her.

At least Jak had taken it on him to start shooting the power nodes. "How many… in total?" she managed to squeeze out in between two maneuvers.

"Twenty four, at least that's what the boss lady said," Jinx replied, sounding as if he made this sort of death drive every day. Valentine's pony tail whipped in the air when they went down once more. Her stomach felt tingly, and not in the way it felt when she was around Jak. More the sort of tingly she got when she was in a situation which she really, really wanted to get away from.

"Don't worry, we already got half," Jak reassured her. Valentine nearly squeaked when she saw he was half-crouching in his seat. She decided she would be having a talk with Keira about installing safety belts in any new vehicle from now on. For the time being she had to settle for grabbing the top of Jak's pants, accidentally pinching him in the process.

After this she needed a vacation. Somewhere where there wasn't an ongoing war. After they had saved the world from whatever was heading towards them. Her, Jak, maybe Daxter and a lot of good drinks and even better drinks. Yes, that's what she wanted. She clenched her eyes shut tight when they went into another spin.

"You want a what?" Jak shouted over the sound of gunfire.

"I was going to say a drink, but I don't think that's a good idea after this!" she shouted back. The view would have been nice if it wasn't constantly whirring about. Jinx pushed something in her hands.

"Keep your damn hands on the wheel!" she yelled, grabbing the offered item quickly. Opening one eye she could she a drinking flask engraved with Jinx's initials. She shook her head, handing the bottle to Daxter the moment he asked for it.

After that the bots stopped coming, most likely before they had destroyed the towers that guided their movement. Jinx dropped them off, laughing the entire time as Valentine nearly had to crawl out of the Zoomer. If Jak hadn't been there to support her there was a good chance she would have tumbled off the tower.

"Have fun, ya crazy kids," Jinx waved goodbye as he turned away, flying towards safer regions.

"You okay?" Jak asked her. She assumed the question had something to do with the way her fingers dug into his skin. She relaxed her grip, taking a few deep breaths.

"I'm… fine. Not fine fine, but relatively good. I like it better when you're driving. Tell me you're driving next time," She said, her knees feeling dangerously unhinged.

Daxter climbed up to Jak's shoulder. "Wow, you look like you've seen a ghost."

They walked inside the factory, Jak making sure she wasn't about to drop to the ground in pure exhaustion. It was crazy since she hadn't actually done anything. Must be the impact of fearing for her life that was hitting her at the moment.

"Pretty sure I nearly became one. Someone should get other people to drive. Jinx can't be the only one they have."

Jak chuckled without sound, impressed at how Valentine went from confident and strong to someone who looked to be seasick thanks to a ride in a car. "I suppose you won't be taking any more driving lessons then?"

Valentine looked around the room they had entered. The room was cold, dressed in steel and blinking diodes. The Dark Eco that powered everything was almost tangible in the air. This room had been built by someone with impressive knowhow. "I don't think Erol is the one who built this thing."

"What?" Jak asked her, surprised at the sudden jump from subject.

"Erol… Ashelin and the others thought he might be up in here. But I don't see it. The Baron had him running everything he couldn't be bothered to check but… if you ask me, I doubt Erol wouldn't have known how to turn on a computer. Someone's been helping him," Valentine explained her suspicion. This place had not been built by one man - or one bucket of bolts - alone. Not this kind of tech, and not in this amount. It would have taken the Baron years to build something like this even if he had thrown all he had into it.

"Just because he can't have built it doesn't mean he can't still be lurking somewhere around here," Jak muttered when Valentine released his arm. She looked around the corridor. The sound of machines could be heard, dull as if several layers of metal were between them and the source of the sound.

Jak had a point. Not a point she liked to hear, but one's opinion mattered seldom in life. She ran her tongue across her bottom lip, feeling more and more nervous about actually being here.

"Not a problem, Jak beats him up, we make the place go BOOM and skedaddle back to Spargus where the both of you can get your asses kicked by Damas," Daxter made clear, checking the surroundings. Things were being peaceful.

"Charming prospect," Valentine mumbled, following after Jak while trying to focus on what was happening around her. The Eco was flowing steadily over the whole, but the further they walked the more she felt her skin prickle. Perhaps the flight here had taken more out of her than she would like to admit. Perhaps.

Daxter looked back at her, nearly slamming his tail in Jak's face as he did so. "Well, what were ya expecting? Let's just be grateful this trip is going to be a walk in the park. After all, it's not like something can stop us now."

There were moments in her life Valentine was convinced that words could severely impact someone's life. Finally telling a person you wanted to be with them. Finding out a person wasn't who you thought they were. Stuff that you already feel is going to be important before you say it. 'Nothing can happen' and any variant thereof also fell in that category.

Right after Daxter had finished his sentence they could hear a door slide open, followed by the metallic clanking of footsteps. Before they had gone far the distinctive red paint of enemy bots was visible, followed by enemy fire. Jak pushed her to the side, going the other way not a second too soon. The place where they had been standing was sprayed with bullets.

"I take it back!" Daxter shouted, pressing his paws to his ears as Jak started to shoot from behind the corner.

"Door, behind you!" Valentine shouted, looking for a way out herself. If only things could be easy for one single time.

One bullet and the glass on the door shattered. Jak didn't immediately jump through, looking at Valentine. "Val, come on!"

Valentine pulled up one corner of her mouth. Both of them knew she couldn't jump through a spray of bullets and come out alive. Instead she pointed up to a vent above her. Jak caught the hint and made short work of it thanks to excellent aim.

"Val, I'd better see you again!" he shouted, his voice a tad hoarser than usual.

She took a moment to wink at him. "Please, as if you could get rid of me. I'll race you to the main control room. Last one there has to give the other a back massage."

The robots came closer, putting an end to their banter. Thanking the Precursors for the way she had been trained in Spargus she jumped up to the vent, pulling herself up just in time. The air wafting through it tasted metallic, sending goose bumps up and down her skin. At least the robots hadn't figured out where she had gone. Probably still had the basic programming that led them to think in less creative terms than humans.

She started to crawl forward, dragging one leg forward and then the other. Withing seconds her body started to heat up. Strands of hair sticking to her face made her wish she could somehow re-do her ponytail. As she crawled the sound of gun shots faded away, replaced by the steady thumping of the factory that was occasionally interrupted by more unexpected sounds. The only thing she couldn't hear was an alarm sounding. Logical actually, since an alarm was only useful to alert living beings. The bots were all connected to the main frame.

Great, there was an entire factory looking for both her and Jak. With a huff she pulled herself forward, glancing back on her wrist computer every once in a while. Her progress was slow, but she was certain she was safer at the moment than Jak was. There weren't any robots after her at least. Thank the Precursors for small blessings.

"When I get my hands on Erol…" she muttered to herself when she bumped her hip against the side of the vent for the umpteenth time, "I'm going to disassemble him into tiny pieces. And then I'll use those pieces to make chew toys for Metal Heads."

She hadn't even finished her sentence completely when the grate beneath her hands made a rather ominous sound. She had time for a full second of panic before she found herself hurtling head first down a chute, the air whooshing around her in violent rips.

She screamed. Maybe Jak would hear her and know where she was. At the very worst the bots heard her and she'd be forced to get away really fast when they found her. At least that had been her worst case scenario, until the shoot started to become more horizontal. A few seconds later she found her legs dangling on the top of an iron chair, upside down and extremely disoriented. It took a few seconds for the panic to decently kick in when she was introduced to the real worst case scenario.

"Didn't think I'd find you alone without the other freak. Did you miss me, my little bitch?" Erol didn't wait for an answer before he moved to catch her.


	44. Boss Battle01

Valentine only had that fraction of a heartbeat to slide down the heavy chair she had landed in before Erol slammed his fist where her abdomen had been. Any slower and she would have been killed. She twisted her legs in an attempt to get on her feet. She was thwarted when Erol kicked her in the small of her back, sending her flying forward. Before she had gotten up he grabbed her ponytail, hoisting her up without allowing her to find some support on the ground. She had to grit her teeth to stop from crying out in frustration. Not pain, at least not yet.

"You know, I really thought I'd be getting my hands on Jak first. You always were the one to hide away in the shadows." Erol's moist breath wafted against her cheek. If he started to pull any harder something might snap. "Not that I'm complaining. Despite your problems you've always been easier on the eyes than him. Still, I can't keep you alive and go after him. I'm sure you understand."

Valentine gripped for his hand, focusing. He was more than half a robot now and she had her own defenses against anything that was powered by Eco. Her captor cried out in pain when she manipulated the energy powering his hand in short bursts. As she fell to the ground she kicked his feet from underneath him. He was too heavy, instead only staggering back a few steps. The fact that his new legs now bended backwards didn't exactly put her at ease either.

"I'd hate to disappoint," She growled back, panting in an attempt to catch her breath. Her mind was still reeling from her fall down the chute, something which Erol popping up didn't exactly improve.

His grin was sly, showing too many teeth for her liking. "Oh, you'll never disappoint. Tell you what, surrender now and I'll kill you last."

Valentine huffed, a desperate attempt to get more oxygen in her body before bout two started. She hadn't expected to run into Erol on her own, without even having the tactical advantage of being able to manipulate the factory to her wishes. "Who is it, Erol? Who's big enough a fool to accept you as a crony?"

"I made some new friends in the past few months. They were the ones who had me restored, and they want to share their powers with me." He lunged after her with his metal arm once more. In a reflex she grabbed onto it, surprising him. What she wanted was to stop his heart but she had to be content with sending waves of pain through the prosthetic before he slammed her against the iron railing. Only then did she notice they were above a circular room that looked eerily like an Arena. Bits and pieces of robot were scattered about, some of them still emitting sparks.

"I'll be the one to decide the fate of the planet soon. They don't want much, just everybody dead and an end to all Light Eco."

Erol was starting to learn it wasn't so easy to put his hands on her as he originally had thought. He looked at her more warily, trying to calculate how he could put an end to her. Valentine flexed her hands as she did the same, measuring him up and trying to assess weak spots. Obviously his metal parts were weak when it came to her, but that didn't mean he couldn't use his good hand to strangle her. The thought seemed to rise in his mind too since he tried to grab her with his good hand next.

She ducked before slamming her elbow into his stomach. Erol doubled over, gears grinding as he did so. Before he managed to raise himself up Valentine brought down her foot onto his back. Sadly for her Erol had had that part refurbished into armored steel, sending a shock through her leg. As he rose up she opted for an elbow to his nose, which was blocked by his real hand closing around it before she could make contact.

"Little girl knows how to fight now," He commented, raising her arm up to an uncomfortable level. His iron fist slammed into her stomach, retracting before she managed to manipulate the Eco. He brought his face closer to her, looking her dead in the eyes.

She butted him in the head, aiming straight between the eyes. It took him by surprise, though she had once again underestimated the amount of metal in his body. A trickle of blood started to drip in her left eye. She brought up a hand, finding a cut above her eyebrow. "I'm not a kid anymore."

It was her turn to advance, attempting to grab him by any part that seemed artificial. If she could get close to his heart she would be able to stop him dead in his tracks. During one of their turns in the small space Erol pushed a button in the wall. A piston shot out of the wall, knocking her off balance. She slammed against the wall, Erol's hand closing around her throat.

"If things had been different you would have been standing at my side, little girl."

Valentine tried to spit at him, the action impeded by his thumb pressing down on her throat. "Never," She managed to say, the word costing her precious oxygen.

"The day we killed your parents the Baron had to choose; stick you in the program or raise you as a KG. He preferred the latter until I pointed out we hadn't had a woman in the program that could channel Eco yet. We knew your mother could, so he decided to take a chance. Turns out my hunch had been right." Valentine's heart clenched at his words, even though those actions were in the past now. Nothing could be changed about it. Blinking ferociously she tried to keep a level head as her wound continued to drip blood in her eyes.

"Like bitch, like daughter."

With an icy look she brought her knee up, slamming him between the legs. The grip around her throat loosened at once and she repeated the action, this time connecting her knee with Erol's nose. Something cracked, which made her feel almost better. The palm of her right hand connected to his ear, sending Erol sprawled to the side.

"You talk too much."

The floor underneath her feet suddenly collapsed on itself, sending her tumbling down towards the arena construct. She cursed, landing on her knees with a metallic thud. Wiping a hand across her eyes Valentine looked up at Erol, whose nose was releasing a steady stream of blood.

He seemed to have heard her last comment because he wasted no more time on words, slamming his fist on a button in front of him. Doors around her grated, revolving open to reveal Death Bots. Just what she had freaking needed. She really needed to look into carrying a gun instead of relying on Jak in that department.

"I'd like to say I'll miss you… but I hate you too much to lie to you," Erol told her, pinching his nose in an attempt to stop the flood of blood.

Valentine was spared the trouble of thinking up a response when the first bot started to fire at her. She ran to the sides, taking incidental cover behind one of the other robots. There were five in total she noted, too many to take on without thinking. "If you're a good girl and surrender now, I'll give you to my new friends. I'm sure they'd love a new test subject and you already have experience in that job."

The bot in front of her started to malfunction in one of his legs, but not before turning around, slamming a gun against her sides. Valentine was thrown against the wall, her head banging against unyielding metal. For a moment her vision blurred, but the thought of being a toy for those so-called Dark Makers made her grit her teeth. She would never be an experiment again. She pretended to sink in a stupor, leading Erol in making elated whooping sounds.

There it was, the Eco running through the room. It was close to the surface here, leading her to check for security guns. No such luck however, though she was able of disabling the vents that could allow more bots. But that was it. The machines that built the bots were too far away for her to manipulate and the whole factory was built to accommodate the bots. For good measure she unlocked every single door she could find to give Jak a chance.

She rose to her legs again, only slightly wobbling. She was going to be sore in the morning, if she survived at least. Right now her chances were probably dwindling into single digits. "Erol, you are hereby cordially invited to go to fucking hell!"

The five robots took aim at her, making her doubt for a second how she was going to handle this. She blinked, and in that exact second the robot closest to her literally lost its head. Two more followed before she had been able to draw a full breath and a familiar voice was the next thing she heard.

"The door was unlocked, so we thought to pop in and say hi," Jak said, taking care of bot number four as he walked into the room. Valentine thought her heart was about to burst from relief as she laid eyes upon him. Swooning might have not been very hero-like of her but damn if she hadn't feared getting killed just a few seconds ago.

"You have no idea how glad I am to see you!" She managed to say as the fifth robot found its head dislocated by a bullet, following the others in their fate.

Jak grinned, lowering his gun for a second. "You had me worried for a few minutes there. Don't disappear like that again?"

"JAK! Look up there!" Daxter shouted, grabbing Jak's head and forcing him to look up at the balcony.

"Erol!" Jak shouted, taking a few steps closer to Valentine as he did so.

She put a hand on his shoulder, her heartbeat slowing down from its alarmed pace when she could feel warm skin underneath her hand. "He's working with the Dark Makers."

Erol grinned at them in a 'what are you going to do about it' way, pressing the button to unleash more bots on them. When it didn't work he pushed again, and again.

Jak looked at her and despite not knowing what the button was supposed to do he had a pretty good guess who had been the one that disabled it. "Someone's been busy."

She shrugged in response, reminding herself that now really wasn't the time to be flirting. Well, maybe a little bit wouldn't hurt. "What can I say, I get bored so easily without my hero around."

The banter was interrupted when Erol launched a few grenades at them. Jak pushed her out of the way, pushing Daxter in her hands for safekeeping. Truth be told, Valentine hadn't counted on there being actual grenades indoors. Torn had always been rather nit picky about things like grenades on the table for some reason. "Twat waffle!" Valentine shouted after Erol's form when the cyborg decided to make a quick escape.

With a huff she swiped away some loose strands of hair from her face, suddenly feeling flushed after having fought the new Erol. Honestly she felt a little piqued that Erol thought fighting her was no biggie, but that he preferred to hightail it out of there as soon as Jak made his appearance. The latter placed a hand on her shoulder when she looked as if she was prepared to climb up the balcony after their opponent. "He's probably long gone. We saw a really dark portal on our way here. Wouldn't surprise me if he went through there."

Valentine let out an emphasized 'argh', shaking her fist in the direction Erol had run off to. "I had him on the ropes too, you know. Bastard just pressed a button to drop me down here because he couldn't handle me."

Jak ran a thumb under the cut above her eye, surprising her. "You got hurt."

"Just a scratch," She muttered, reaching for the cut herself.

He stopped her, taking her other hand in his. He quickly scanned her all over to check for more injuries. His eyes landed on a few rips where Erol had pierced her clothes, though she didn't feel any pain at the moment. "I should have been there to protect you." Suddenly Valentine was pressed against Jak, his arms closed around her. The action, though unexpected, made her feel secure. "Don't scare me like that again."

"Jak…" she buried her face in his neck, taking a few deep breaths to steady herself. Only now the adrenaline was fading from her body, leaving her shaky. He pressed her even closer, needing to feel her to reassure himself nothing irreparable had happened to her.

Daxter interrupted the moment, making his discontentment about being trapped between the two of them very clear. "Helloooo, Daxter to lovebirds? How about we focus on the mission at hand for a moment? Like, I don't know, blowing up the damn factory."

"Oh, right, right," Valentine replied as Jak let go of her. Funny how something like hugging Jak made her forget all about being in a factory filled to the brim with murderous robots. Love did make people stupid after all it seemed.

Daxter rolled his eyes, releasing himself from her grip. "Okay sister, you're the one with the computer brains. What are we supposed to do?"

Valentine pointed up to where Erol had been only minutes before. "Well, Erol was there when I dropped in on him - and you can take that literally. Maybe there'll be a door to the main room."

And if there wasn't she'd just follow the stream of Eco until they reached it.

"What, you didn't see?" Daxter asked as he climbed back to perch on Jak's shoulder, who was busy giving Valentine a boost up.

She rubbed a hand over her now sore throat before helping Jak make his way up. "It's kind of hard to check out the architecture when someone is trying to kill you."

This had both of the men scowling. Valentine swore to herself that if either dared to say something along the lines of 'you can never go somewhere alone from now on' she'd have the offender take an inside tour of the factory before she blew it up. True, she had nearly gotten killed but she had also kicked Erol's ass. A feat which none of them should be ignoring.

They must have picked up on that fact because neither said something about it. And lo and behold, there was indeed a door that she had missed simply because it seemed to blend in to the background. It being closed made no difference to Jak, who kicked it open in one go.

They entered a room with two more doors, ignoring the one they had just come through. Valentine let out a whistle when she saw the hardware. "Damn, we hit the mother load. Check out this baby."

She ran her hands softly across the keyboard in front of a large screen. The Dark Makers might have been evil but at least they knew their way around tech. After a pointed cough from Jak - what, she couldn't profess her love for inanimate objects anymore? - she first drew up a map to check for an escape route. That it was saved under 'favorites' indicated Erol hadn't been that at home in the factory himself.

Once they had memorized the route and given a call to Jinx so they'd have a ride back down Valentine got working on shutting the factory down. Though there was no self-destruct sequence available she did find the next best thing.

"Uhm, Valentine? I think you're supposed to set the number of robots to be made to zero. You're working with the good guys, remember?" Daxter informed her as he and Jak peered over her shoulder to see what she was doing.

Valentine hushed him, setting all the systems to maximum. Somewhere deeper in the factory strained noises could be heard as too much strain was being put on the systems. "Best way to overload a computer, make it do a bunch of stuff it was never meant to do. I sure hope Erol likes the flower designs on the latest line of bulk-produced, extra weak bots."

Jak shook his head at her bravado, urging her towards the exit. The way the factory had started to sound they got outside not a second too soon. Jinx didn't look that happy being near it either, taking off before Jak had even sat down.

"I've got to take you kids to the Spargus transport. Seems like the big poof over there wants to see you lot back there ASAPPY."

"ASAPPY?" Jak inquired.

"As Soon As Possible, Preferably Yesterday," Jinx clarified, locating a fresh cigar as the factory blew up in pieces, the biggest part of it falling on the Metal district.

"Ashelin's got a transport waiting for you near HQ. You're supposed to board it without delay, in case Damos starts to get a little too itchy about his adopted princess being late. Sure didn't have to tell me about that promotion, sweet thing."

Valentine ignored the last comment, dread sinking into her stomach. Suddenly the idea of another round in the factory started the sound mighty appealing. "Damos is going to kill us. Me first, probably, but you two won't be too far behind."

Immediately she imagined trying to explain the situation to her King. But how was she going to find the words to do so properly? The man thought his only son was dead. He probably wouldn't appreciate what he would see as a crude joke.

Jak draped an arm around her shoulders, pulling her close. "Relax. Everything is going to be fine."


	45. Lucky Guesses

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One day I'm going to turn the last part of the chapter in a full smut scene. Just not now, since I'm tired as hell.

|Spargus|

During the trip back Valentine had managed to doze off, leaning her head against Jak's shoulder while the vehicle jostled in the air. The new upgraded vehicles could make the trip in half the time the original ones had, making the ride not nearly as daunting as their journey to Haven had been. Jak's gentle nudging woke her up with a start from a dream she was having about Damas and Ma'al getting opera tickets. Though random and slightly disturbing Valentine had an inkling the dream was a lot better than reality was going to get.

Thankful they had been dropped off just outside the city gates the three of them trotted back to the city. Before they had gone far something large and dark swooped down, knocking her face first in the sand.

"Meta!" Valentine cried out, wrapping her arms around the Scout's long neck.

Crooning the animal responded, making clear with an abundance of licking - and added saliva - just how much she had missed her best friend. Meta pressed her skull gem against Valentine's forehead, giving the woman an idea about what had been happening these past few days.

"I missed you sweetie!" Valentine responded. Before she could talk further someone grabbed her ear and forced her back to her feet.

"And what do you think you have been up to?" Damas asked, keeping his adopted daughter's ear pinched between his fingers. Valentine cried out in indignation as she tried to pry her ear loose from his grasp.

"Ouch ouch ouch! I can explain, I swear." Sure, the explanation started out seemingly simple only to deteriorate in a jumbled mass of time travel and good intentions. And the yanking on her ear did not help her to sort out her thought process. Of course any inkling of trying to explain herself any further went down the mental drain when her king looked straight into her eyes, jaw set in a way that could make Precursor steel look soft.

"You can explain yourself after seeing to your duties. Which you can do after your punishment." His voice was slow and controlled, the only indication of anger the way his fingers pinched even harder around her ear.

Her heart sank deeper in her chest when she realized how much trouble she was in. Sure, she had expected some anger… but at the same time she had secretly been hoping Damos would be willing to tone it down a little bit   
"Sir… father? I'm still quite attached to that ear for now, so if you don't mind?"

Damas let go of her, turning his attention to Jak who snapped to attention the moment he was being scrutinized. "And you…" Damas' voice turned just a shade more deadly. Valentine swallowed, trying to decide if she should try to intervene or not. The way Meta cowered on the ground seemed to indicate that if Jak wasn't in any immediate danger she'd do best to lay low.

"You were supposed to protect my daughter! No harm is to befall her and you drag her to the middle of a war zone!" Jak visibly paled under the words, his mouth moving as if he wanted to say something in his defense. "Don't. Both of you are lucky I don't kick you out of the city to leave you to the desert."

"It wasn't her fault, I-" Jak was stopped short by Damas' glare which alternated between the different parties.

"I know fully well to what lengths she would go to if she gets an idea stuck in her head. Neither of you are getting off lightly. Valentine, report to the Arena. Mihko will know what do to with you. And you…" Damas glanced at Jak once more, clearly not very forgiving. "Kleiver will have some tasks for you. Both of you will be forgiven after sufficient penance."

"But there's -" Valentine tried once more to say something about the Dark Makers, about Mar or anything else that was important.

"Dismissed!" Damas snapped at the both of them, striding towards the city at the exact same moment two of his assistants caught up to him. Though he didn't look back it was clear he wanted them to follow after him, though the prospect was highly unappetizing.

Daxter let out a shaky sigh, dropping himself on Meta's back. "Well, now I know what Lurker bait looks like. You two got off easy though, I was expecting at least one person to die."

Valentine breathed, a shaky wisp of air that seemed to come all the way from her toes. "Dead might still be on the table for as far as we know. He did not seem happy." She tossed a quick glance to the backpack Jak was carrying for her, motioning for him to hand it over. Slinging it on her back - the sharp corner of a photo album managed to dig into her back just at the most painful spot - she quickened her pace in order to keep up with Damas.

"Be careful out there. I don't know what you'll need to do for Kleiver but if it's punishment…"

"We'll be fine. I don't think anything they throw at us now could wear us out. We just fought Erol in a huge floating factory." Jak's easy smile showed he believed his words to the letter, mirrored by Daxter who didn't seem fazed in the least.

Three hours later Valentine found that there were things that could still wear her out, and at the top of the list was a training session devised by Mihko. The tall man had a boot on the small of her back as she had to do push-ups, sinking to the ground and getting back up in an irregular rhythm. Not that she didn't see the importance of some muscle, it had saved her ass only a little while back, but she would have liked some breathing time. Or the chance at changing into something more Arena appropriate.

Sweat glistened on her body as she kept her breath steady, determined not to cave in until Mihko told her she could stop. Every inch of muscle felt as if it was on fire, the hot air inside the Arena threatening to suffocate her. Others were also in training though they had the pleasure of going at it on a more leisurely pace. "How long am I supposed to keep this up?" she finally asked, nearly caving through her arms. She hoped for Jak's sake the Marauders had been keeping quiet and that he wasn't going through something worse than she was.

"I've got you until two hours before the sun sets," The Arena manager replied as he flipped through the papers on his clipboard. He lifted his foot from her back, indicating she could stop for now. Immediately she caved through her arms, not caring if dust would stick to her moist skin. For the moment being able to taking a breather was the most important thing. "I'll give you fifteen minutes, then you have hand to hand combat with some of the other citizens." The lanky man told her.

She thought about making a snide comment but her brain was too preoccupied with resting up. Fifteen minutes? That was all? Damas really was pissed at her if he was working her into a sweat like this. It was the best way to punish her while still making sure she didn't die. And meanwhile Jak was his real son and he got sent out in the Wasteland without a second thought. "I need to talk to Damas. Where is he?"

"Nowhere you can get to in under seven minutes. You're staying here, he'll call you when he's ready to listen to excuses." The answer was vaguely disinterested as Mihko scratched the back of his head. "Right, the transport you came in had a few communicators on board. One of them has been ringing non-stop for about half an hour. Some guy named Torn, wanted to talk to you. Feel like taking that call?"

Valentine nodded, hoping the movement would be discernible as she lay sprawled like a lizard. What did Torn want from her that couldn't wait until after her lifelong sentence of being grounded? The sleek, silver communicator floated down to her level, Torn's voice so clear she could have sworn he was standing right next to her.

"Valentine, explain yourself!" Torn commanded at once.

"Well, the average body is made up from several components, most importantly-" she started, deciding some snark was the best way of dealing with all of this. The Precursors knew she wouldn't be able to give Damas a hard time so she had to do it with someone else.

"I'm talking about those damned pink Death Bots the factory spit out before exploding!" the previous KG commander sounded as if he was foaming at the mouth. If the world ever turned into a truly peaceful place there was a chance Torn would never find a chance to unwind. She should start thinking of a fun hobby for him to do.

"What? They're not killing anyone, are they?" Valentine asked, slightly worried. She hadn't had a lot of time to input a new directive for the bots but there shouldn't be a real problem.

"No casualties, but those things keep stalking my people around. What the hell did you do that for? How do we make them stop?"

"Tic Tac Toe," She replied, sitting up. She ran a hand across her cheek in an attempt to wipe off the dirt. Gross.

"Wha?"

"The game? You played it tons of times with me when we were stuck keeping a lookout? If you win the game they'll look for hostile Death Bots and attack them," Valentine suggested, realizing she was only rubbing the dirt more on her instead of off her.

Torn took a deep breath on the other side of the line. "We are in the middle of a war and you decide the best way to lighten up the mood is have us play a children's game with Death Bots?"

"Pink Death Bots, with a cute floral pattern," She clarified as if the paint job made all the difference.

"Why on the world pink?" Torn asked, his voice accompanied by the sound of paper being torn up.

Valentine shrugged even though there was no optical feed on the communicator. "I like pink, it's a pretty color. More importantly, I wanted it to bug the hell out of Erol."

"Fair enough," Torn replied before barking some new orders to the people who were undoubtedly also in the room. "What's the status over there?"

"I've just been effectively grounded for the first time in my life," Valentine didn't know how to handle that. Whenever Torn had tried it she'd pretty much walked straight through him in a show of adolescent 'I know better than you'. Not that she'd had anywhere to go other than uncle Vin's place.

A raspy laugh was the reply. "That should keep you busy. Have you told Damas about the Day Star yet?"

"He wouldn't listen to me. I don't think the thing will be coming down just now but… I dunno, the sooner I can talk to him the better." Just not too soon. There were too many things going on to just casually start a conversation with her adopted father.

From the other side of the Arena she spotted some women raising their hands towards them. Looked like her fifteen minutes were up. "I've gotta go. Keep me posted if something big comes up?"

"You mean other than a war?" Nobody could do sarcasm like Torn. One day she hoped to be as fluent in it as he was.

"Like when you've beaten your first Pink Bot. You really sucked at that game."

|Evening|

Jak rolled his shoulders before taking a seat in the stuffy bar. The Marauders hadn't kept quiet while he had been gone, prompting Kleiver into sending him and Daxter out to do all the dirty work. There had to be a better way to get those guys out of the Wasteland. And then there had been that small storm - how one could call a storm in the desert small was beyond him. After clearing sand from all of the awkward places he felt like a new and positively bored man.

"Missing your honey already?" Daxter teased him in a break in the conversation he was having with the bartender. The two had been swapping secrets of the trade which had looked an awful lot like drinking tiny amounts of liquor.

"No," Jak replied immediately before he slumped in his seat. "…maybe."

Daxter rolled his eyes at the reply, tossing back a new drink. "Can't get to her with all those bodyguards running around. Remember what they told us?"

"Nobody is to disturb the Lady Valentine until King Damas says so," Jak groaned, holding up a hand so he could get a beer. Seriously, all he wanted was to spend some quality time with Val that didn't involve nearly dying or running away from things.

He looked at Daxter who seemed to be highly amused by the situation. "Well, you're the superhero around here. Why don't you try sneaking in? What are they going to do, force you to fight more Marauders? They're gonna run out sooner or later."

He considered the idea as he took a sip of the beer. Now that Daxter mentioned it, it wasn't like security was that heavy. And technically speaking he doubted him visiting would be disturbing to Val in the least, though that would be a flimsy excuse if he got caught. "Then what are you going to do?"

"Sig is going to swing by later. He wants to know what we've been up to and he was going to tell me what kind of stupid shit Ma'al got himself into since we left. I never thought I'd say it but Metal Kings can be really entertaining," Daxter said, grinning like a maniac just thinking about all the juicy gossip he would be getting his hands on.

Jak considered his options for a moment. He could be responsible and not get himself into any more trouble… but on the other hand he could be alone with Val without people barging down the door every five seconds. But he also wanted to catch up with Sig. Then again he didn't want to be stuck listening to stories about Ma'al in all of his naked glory.

"Go. We'll be fine without you," Daxter encouraged him, waving a hand towards the door. Jak hesitated for a moment longer before making a beeline for the door. If Sig had anything life-changing to say Daxter would be sure to fill him in.

|Palace|

Valentine ran a finger across the cut on her forehead, just above her eyebrow. For the most part it was straight, only turning slightly ragged when it swooped down to the side of her head. Waggling her eyebrows she realized she'd gotten lucky she hadn't cracked her skull head-butting Erol like that. It looked like it would heal without leaving a scar, provided she left it alone.

"He did have a hard head though, even before being Mister Roboto," Valentine announced to Meta who was sitting next to her in the sofa. It wasn't every day she got to battle someone like that. She laid the hand mirror to the side, casting a glance down her legs. She had a bruise on the inside of her left calve and another one right above her foot. And then there were the ones forming on her back from the training Mihko had put her through.

She stood up in a brisk movement and walked towards the window, Meta trotting behind her obediently. The Metal Head had kept close vigil on Valentine for the majority of the day, providing a recap of everything that had happened in town while she had been gone. Nothing too interesting except a lot of images of Damas being so angry he'd nearly taken one of the buggies to follow them to Haven.  
She rested against the window still, enjoying a pleasant breeze. In a few hours the desert would be cold as ice but for now she could enjoy the refreshing tang of salty sea air. The town spread out below her, warm lights starting to flicker in windows, spreading a pleasant golden glow over the area.

Valentine directed her gaze up, immediately fixating on the source of most of their problems. The Day Star loomed above them, decidedly bigger than she remembered it being. Not that she'd spent a lot of time looking at the stars. That had been Seem's field of expertise. She twirled a strand of hair around her fingers. Seem should have told her about what the thing really brought instead of that whole 'remaking the world' bull she had told Damas. Had the monk really believed they would be able to escape the destruction of the world?

Meta let out a worried whine, sending an image of Ma'al through. Valentine nodded absently. "We could use his help. Will you let him know we could use his help if things get worse?"  
No matter what the Dark Makers would throw at them, Ma'al in his true form would be an unexpected challenge. Meta nodded and took flight through the open window, blowing Valentine's hair back from her face with the take-off.

Valentine ran her hands through her hair. Would wishing a meteor could just strike the Day Star be too much? They didn't even know what the Dark Makers looked like, though she was willing to bet from what she had seen back at the volcano they weren't sweet and fluffy critters. Before she was finished with her agonizing she could feel a sudden gust of wind from behind her. Without thinking she lashed out.

Her fist was caught in Jak's hand. He seemed to be a little surprised at the sudden attack though an easy smile showed all was forgiven. Her surprise on the other hand wasn't forgotten so easily.  
"Jak? What are you doing here?" Valentine blurted out. She had been under the impression that being grounded included no visits from the boyfriend. At least that was what Haven's abominable television programming had led her to believe.

"I… stopped by?" he suggested, his smile growing more lopsided as he spoke. "Just wanted to see you to be honest. Things have been getting more hectic lately."

She nodded even though she couldn't believe he had just been able to walk in like that. "And nobody tried to stop you? I mean, I didn't think they'd let anyone pass through."/

Jak rubbed the back of his head as he looked back at the door with an almost guilty look plastered across his face. "I might have used Light Eco to get in here. Orders were pretty specific about not anybody getting to disturb you."

Valentine grinned when she heard that. Of course Jak would take a chance to experiment a little bit with his powers if he got the chance. With the same grin she gestured to a small pile of flasks lying on a low table. "Well, if you need to replenish your Eco, Seem's monks have continued making the medicine while we were gone. I didn't really have the time to let them know it wasn't necessary anymore."

The blond immediately looked as if he had tasted something foul when she mentioned the medicine, clearly remembering the taste. With a laugh she pressed a kiss on his cheek, the soft stubbles stinging slightly against her lips. He ran a finger across the cut on her head, looking less amused than she was. "He really got you good back there," He said, voice growing darker as he thought back to Erol.

Valentine shook her head with a smile. "Actually I was the one head butting him. I hadn't thought he would have metal in his head as well."

Jak breathed out, looking in her eyes. "I suppose me telling you to stay somewhere safe isn't going to make much of a difference?"

"Only if you're prepared to knock me unconscious before locking me up somewhere."

He sighed, looking partly amused and partly worried. "That's what I thought. Then I won't suggest it."

"Good," She replied, slipping in his arms before he could suggest something else that would keep her from his side. She nuzzled her face against his neck, taking deep breaths. She hadn't realized she needed someone to comfort her until Jak had been by her side once more. "What are we going to do about the Day Star?"

Jak pressed a kiss on the top of her head before he replied. "We find the weapon Samos was talking about and take care of things that way. They won't even come near the planet as long as we're on watch duty."

She chuckled, her eyes closed in the embrace. "That's a nice plan. Probably won't work though."

"Oh?"

She shook her head, pulling away from him for a moment. "Torn always said a plan lasts until problems start. After that it's a question of being the smartest, quickest person calling the shots."

"Then we'll still win. We're the best combination out there," Jak reassured her, taking her with him as he walked towards the couch. She nestled in his lap, one foot hopping up and down as they talked.

"Has anyone ever told you that you have too much confidence?" she inquired, flipping his nose in a loving gesture.

He shrugged, rolling his eyes in the progress. "Maybe once or twice. It's not that bad though."

When she opened her mouth to say something else he pressed a quick kiss on her lips. Not that she let that deter her. "I'll make sure to keep you with both your feet on the ground. You need someone to take care of you."

He groaned, rolling his eyes once more. "Honestly, I'm not a kid anymore."

Valentine looked him over, realizing once more that the boy she had once known really had faded into the man she loved. "I know that. Sometimes it's easy to forget though."

"I'll help you remember," He promised, pulling her close to him. Pressed against his body, strong arms around her Valentine couldn't help but respond to the sudden kiss. Jak's skin was warm, seeping through her own clothes and making her shiver. Sometimes she still couldn't believe that after all that had happened Jak was here, holding her close. Even if he had a clean scent now, there was still the vague undercurrent of gunpowder and oil, things that were as much a part of him as the Eco. "I won't ever let you forget me," He added, pressing light kisses on her cheeks, her nose, moving to her neck and then back to her mouth. Her arms wrapped around his neck, head tilted just so he could have easier access.

"Jak…" she muttered against him. Should she still call him Jak? Or would he prefer Mar?

He seemed to sense the inner turmoil she was experiencing. "It doesn't matter. No matter what you call me, I'll always come back to you."

"You always know what I'm thinking," She said, almost wondered out loud.

As he chuckled hot breath played over her neck. "That's because I know you, Val. I've always known you."

He kissed her hand, kissed each finger in turn. Valentine felt her heart pound in her chest at the sight, knowing that she probably looked flaring red at the moment. "Really? Then what am I thinking now?"

He whispered in her ear, the words making her feel so weak in the knees she was glad to already be sitting. "That's just a very lucky guess," She mumbled against his ear.

"I can be lucky that way," He replied in a smug tone.

She flipped his nose again. "Modesty is becoming in most men."

"Not my style. Want me to keep guessing what you want instead?" he suggested, almost sounding too innocent, especially when paired with the wicked grin he had.

Coquettishly she flipped her hair back. "Sounds like a fun game. What's the time limit?" She nearly gasped when he put a hand on her breast, biting her lip instead.

Jak pressed his lips against her jawline, tracing up so maddeningly slow she thought she might lose any shred of sanity she had. The heat from his hand alone could be enough to drive her insane. "Can I have until morning?" he asked her, sweetly.

All she could do was nod.


	46. From Kiss to Grief

|The Next Morning|

At the break of dawn Valentine peeked between her eyelashes, confirming Jak was indeed still there. Somewhere during their slumber he had let go of her, which had resulted in him being sprawled out on the bed. His chest rose steadily in the early morning light, a soothing and reassuring motion. Here and there scars were splashed across his skin, some more visible than others. He had spent part of the night tracing the marks on her skin as well, carefully mapping them out, etching them to memory.  
She yawned, wiping strands of hair away from her field of vision. Maybe she should get a hair cut soon, she had a feeling it was getting unruly. Biting her lip she considered her options. She could get up, take a shower and make herself presentable before trying to talk to Damas. That would obviously be the wise option. On the other hand, Jak was in her room right now. Which opened up indefinitely more fun things to do. Her decision made Valentine moved closer to Jak, one arm stretching out to slip around his waist. Before she had moved half the way a voice hit her with so much strength she felt as if she was slammed against the pillows.

"King Valentine! Meta has told me the joyous news! I am on my way to the city now!" The voice belonged to Ma'al, reverberating in her head with so much force the bed felt to be spinning around. The pure force that projected the message gave her a momentary splitting headache, making her scream.

"Val? You okay?" Jak woke up at once, warm hands wrapped around her wrists. Valentine looked up, not remembering having actually fallen back. Lucky thing she hadn't tumbled out of bed.

"Yeah… I think so…" she replied, blinking a few times to steady her vision. She tried to send a message back to Ma'al, surprised he hadn't communicated in images like Meta usually did.  
"Ma'al, what the hell?"

No words this time, only the image of desert sand streaming beneath the looming form of a Metal King, speeding towards Spargus. Whatever Ma'al had in mind it was clearly enough to send him speeding across the desert to see her. So much for a tranquil morning.  
"Ma'al is on his way here, though I have no idea what for. Something has his robes in a twist." Damn, had it really been necessary to use that much force? Her head felt like it might split in two at any second. Maybe she had been going soft after the Dark Eco being canceled out, or maybe the Metal King really did pack a punch like that.

Jak soothed her brow for a second, fingers stroking away the pain. "Is that the reason you look so pale?"

She nodded, not standing up right away. Her legs probably wouldn't be able to support her weight if she tried now. "It's got to do with the cure I tried to make back in Haven. Metal Heads communicate through a hive mind and I can tap into that. I've never had Ma'al talk to me directly like that though."  
Ma'al had said he was the youngest Metal King. She wondered if the skill was something that enhanced with age and if so, how more stronger was the voice of the older Kings?

As she tried to stand up Jak supported her, helping her to gather some clothes strewn around the place. Soon it became clear he was better at taking them off than putting them on again. Deciding on a simple sleeveless shirt instead of 'the cute strappy thing' Jak picked out she pulled it over her head. Once Jak was confident she could remain standing he started to gather his own clothes as well.  
"We'd probably better go check near the city gates. If we intercept Ma'al there we can see what he wants before he tries to figure out how this 'Nest' functions on his own."

They arrived at the city gates fairly quickly, followed by a pair of guards that stuck so close they nearly tread on the pair's heels with every step they took. The guards had been extremely confused by Jak popping up from inside Valentine's room, especially since they hadn't seen anyone enter. They had raised their guns at him before they had been slapped down swiftly by Valentine who argued 'they were supposed to keep people out, not shoot people who were leaving'. This had been enough to make them pause for a few seconds. Before they had had time to mull it over Valentine had stepped outside, forcing them to trail behind.

"Of course you'd be showin' up," Kleiver grunted, directing some spit to an unlucky Kanga Rat. He pulled up the sash around his waist, pointing a thumb to the opening gates. "I'm letting the pretty boy in just now. He nearly crashed into the gate while transforming. Would've made a funny sight."

Soon enough Ma'al walked inside as he tried to figure out how the robes exactly functioned again. The half-formed knot was soon enough forgotten when he laid eyes on Valentine. The Metal King spread his arms wide, taking large steps towards his perceived fellow King. "King Valentine, my most heartfelt congratulations."

"Ma'al, it's nice to see you too but what are you-" Valentine started to ask him, walking closer to him. When she'd gotten close enough the tall man had grabbed her by the shoulders. There had been a flash of golden eyes and then the sudden contact of warm lips pressed against hers. The kiss was gentle but firm, given with such deliberation she almost forgot to panic. Thanks to her eyes still being wide open she could see the knot holding up the robe unfolding. With a squeak she grabbed the cloth, keeping it up. The only thing worse than being kissed by another man in front of Jak would be being kissed by a naked man.

"What's the big idea here?" Jak demanded to know. He yanked her away from Ma'als grip with more force than necessary, sadly enough also breaking her grip on the robe. He moved in to hit the King squarely in the face.

Ma'al stopped the attack easily, blinking for a moment. Then he neighed his head in what appeared to be understanding. "Of course, I was being rude."  
Before either of the two heroes could say anything Ma'al moved his free hand to Jak's shoulder, pulling the shorter man towards him. The only thing stopping Valentine's jaw from hitting the ground was physical limitations. Obviously she was not seeing this. She was not seeing Ma'al kissing Jak. This had to be a dream.

Kleiver's insane laughter dispelled the illusion quickly enough. Before Jak recovered his senses she pressed herself between the two men, giving Jak a pleading look to not kill Ma'al immediately.  
"Ma'al, explain yourself. Quickly." She added when she saw Jak patting around in search of a gun.

The dark-haired King didn't look like he realized he'd done something wrong. "Are you surprised by my mastery of etiquette? I was told this is the kind of thing you do when you are near someone you care for a lot, and I believe I just showed my affection for both you and your mate perfectly."

Valentine reminded herself to take deep breaths. Who the hell had he been talking to? Jak still looked like he wanted to beat the King to a bloody pulp, the only thing holding him back her hand spread out against his chest.  
"Ma'al, I want you to think very carefully. Who was the person who told you this?"

The man considered the question for a moment, seemingly oblivious to his robe which was sprawled on the ground. For the moment they had bigger problems than Ma'al streaking. "I believe it was female Rae who told me about this. She has been most informative to me, giving me directions on how to best get along with all of you. Speaking of showing my affections, where is your nest mate Sig?"

Valentine nearly choked when she thought about Ma'al kissing Sig. Somebody had to put a stop to this at once. "I don't think that's a good idea. You see, we only show affection like that to someone we like as a mate. We don't kiss all of our friends."

Ma'al blinked, surprised at the words. "Then perhaps I interpreted the information poorly. Apologies, I did not mean to encroach on another King's territory."

Suppressing a deep sigh she looked back at Jak. "Look it's… cultural differences again. He didn't mean any harm, he just wanted to be nice to us." It sounded like she was defending a puppy and in a way she was. Ma'al seemed so sweet and eager to please it was easy to forget he was actually a Metal King.

Meanwhile the puppy seemed to consider this a moment to strengthen brotherly bonds between him and Jak. Without any fear for his life he stepped past Valentine, towering over Jak. "I would be most pleased if you were to accompany me on a hunt soon. This is a momentous occasion in your life and we must celebrate."

The hero still seemed to be recovering from the unexpected kiss and how he wasn't supposed to avenge the event. "Ugh… sure. But hunting does mean hunting, right? It's not some other weird thing?"

Valentine shook her head. "Hunting does mean just that. If it's got to do with blood you can pretty much go by his words. Ma'al, clothes."

The Metal King obeyed, continuing his efforts to make Jak feel welcome as the consort of a King as he once again fumbled with the knot. His conversation partner tried to steer clear from kissing distance while Kleiver was cackling in the background. Valentine massaged her temples, adding giving Ma'al some more supervision around anyone to her to do list. Her new headache - and the previous one had only just receded - was interrupted when there was a tap on her elbow. She turned around only to come face to face with a young monk.

"King Damas is ready to receive you now."

|Throne Room|

The wooden elevator creaked eerily on the way up. She would have gotten it replaced by something more modern ages ago but technology didn't have a long lifespan in the desert. It had something to do with sand getting everywhere it shouldn't get.  
Normally it wouldn't have bugged her so but this time was different. This time she was so nervous she found herself wishing for another chance to tangle with Erol. With her stomach somewhere in the vicinity of her toes she did not feel like the hero she was supposed to be.

The doors opened to reveal Damas who was sitting on his throne, waiting for her. A sudden squeeze in her heart made her falter in her steps as she walked up to him, shoes clicking on the stepping stones over the water in the middle of the room. He didn't look very happy to see her. She hoped it was the effect the hard throne had on him and not his actual feelings towards her.

"Sir…" she started out softly. She didn't want to call him father when she knew his son was in fact alive. Even if she wanted few things more than for this man to respect her. "I wanted to talk to you."

He gestured, curtly, his eyes taking her in slowly. Great, now he wasn't talking either. "First of all, I should say sorry for disappearing like that. But I didn't do it on purpose. It started out with a trip to the temple and before we knew it we couldn't turn back. It's not like we wanted to-"  
She stopped herself before she got too passionate in her defenses. "We were able to help out the people in Haven. And we discovered some very important things, about the Day Star."

For now she didn't mention Seem working for Veger. The woman was nowhere to be seen in Spargus and Valentine wanted an explanation before she started to make accusations. Just anything that would show the why in the woman's actions.  
"The Day Star is actually the Dark Makers that are coming back to end the world. We can stop them, there's a weapon down the catacombs. If we find that we-"

"I find myself waiting still for the moment where you tell me you realize how much worry you put me through," He finally answered in a voice so quiet she had almost missed it. Tears sprang to her eyes. Of course Damas had been worried about her. She had just assumed that worry was more for the princess of Spargus than for Valentine as a person. She should have known better.

"I'm sorry. I never meant to worry you. I never meant to leave the city so abruptly. But I do have important news for you. Please listen." She looked up at him, blinking rapidly to clear the blur from her vision. When Damas nodded in reply to her question she pulled out one of the albums from her bag. She'd brought them from Haven to show Damas pictures of young Mar. She told him as much, opening the book on a page where Jak and his younger self were in the same picture. It was one of few, Jak having been rather shy of the camera as an adult.

Damas traced the picture gently, as if he was actually stroking the cheek of his son. Valentine averted her eyes when she saw a tear drip down the man's cheek. Her heart hammered in her chest as she tried to pick the best words to continue. Would he believe her? Who would? She'd sound crazy but she had to tell Damas before she told Jak. Jak would actually believe her and she didn't want to put him through more pain. If Damas didn't believe her, Jak would have to live knowing his father couldn't acknowledge his existence.

"I'm listening," Damas replied, taking the book from her hands. The paper rustled in the room, faintly intermingling with the sound of running water. It was a miracle she could even hear that much with her blood pounding in her ears.

"You know a lot of strange things have happened. Me being infected with Dark Eco was the very least of it. Back in Haven, I met someone who at first I believed came from the past. Only after that I found out he'd been brought to the past to grow up…" she was messing things up and she knew it. There was no simple way to explain this. "The reason nobody was able to find Mar is because there was no boy to find. He was brought to the past, to a little village called Sandover village, where he could grow up safely. Then he came back to Haven, when we needed him most."

Damas said nothing but his body seemed to stiffen. The hand he had used to shield the picture of his son cramped up.

"He was by my side as I protected his younger self. He… Mar was taken by the Baron and infected with Dark Eco for a little over two years before we met. He didn't remember any of us, he didn't know who he was. I don't know if I would have believed it myself at that moment."

Her king sat hunched in his throne, the photo book in his lap. The tear that had started on his cheek finally fell down, a perfect drop splashed on his tanned hand. He looked so worn at that moment, so defeated.

"Sir… you've met your son. Jak is your son. Jak is Mar."

Silence crashed down on them, time freezing in place as if the world had inhaled and then forgot to exhale again. Valentine waited, hoping, praying with everything she had. If Damas would only believe her…

"I remember how torn you were when my son was reported missing. Yet I didn't realize you were so hurt you had to resort to imagining outlandish theories to comfort yourself." Damas' voice was fragile, on the point of breaking.

Valentine had to go through with this. "Sir, I am imagining nothing. I am confident they are the same person. He remembers things, things he couldn't have known if he wasn't Mar."

Damas stood up, the album dropping to the ground. "My son can't be him!"

Valentine said nothing, looking to the side.

"My son was taken from his mother's arms when he was a mere babe and here you claim he's now a grown man? It's impossible!" Damas shouted at her, staring her down.

She met his gaze, straightening her back. "I'm not lying! I swear on everything I believe in that they are the same person. Your son is alive. He's alive and in this city. You know him, you've talked with him these past months. He looks up to you and you yourself have admitted he is a great warrior."

"Valentine," Damas growled, warning her to stay her tongue.

"Look at him! His hair, his eyes, the way he handles a gun or rides a buggy. He's every bit the man you were when you were his age. Every time I look at Jak I can see you and your lady wife in him."

"Enough!" Damos bellowed at her. "I have had enough of these lies. Report to the Arena. Don't even think about setting a foot out of the city until I tell you. And not a single more word of this."

Valentine inhaled sharply but thought better than continue this. Instead she bowed deliberately. "Please, sir. When you think about this, remember the respect and love I have for you. If I could call you father freely, few things would make me happier."

"Leave."

She obeyed orders, stepping away from the throne room in rapid steps. Behind her the vague sound of crumpling paper could be heard. She didn't dare look back.


	47. My Dear Son

|Spargus|

Damos spent a long time sitting on his throne after Valentine had left. Any visitors had been met by a few barked orders, scaring them off before they could say what they wanted. His callused finger traced the picture of his son, of little Mar smiling at the camera.

With every page he turned in the book the years caught up with him. Suddenly he felt as brittle as the pages in the album, as if the tiniest gust of desert wind could make him break into pieces. He supposed he shouldn't be so hard on the young woman. She'd suffered just as much as he had when the news had reached Spargus. The body had never been found. Perhaps it was only logical she would flee in a fantasy world where Mar still lived as someone who was strong enough to fend for himself.

The warrior king had never even known his son was a mute before Valentine had told him. The Underground had kept the boy so closely guarded Sig had never been able to catch as much as a rumor about the child. Stolen from his mother on the same day as he had been born, Mar's birthday had been the day Damos had lost Haven. But he had been 'a sweet boy', or so he had heard. 'Innocent and trusting, with a penchant for trouble if unsupervised'. Valentine had told him all about it and he had absorbed every word, hungry for news about his son.

With a heavy sigh he stood up, the book still in his hand. Some of the pictures looked ridiculous, featuring Valentine's get-up from when she had lived in Haven. Thank the Precursors she now favored more natural colors ober an overdose of black and dark purple. He was unable to tear his eyes away from the pictures, hungry for every little detail they could offer him.

He spent the entire night pouring over that album, receiving the other ones Valentine sent up for him a few hours after their conversation. She'd been wise enough not to add any comments, other than a note that read 'with my love'. Every once in a while someone from the council would come see him, complaining about mischief Ma'al had gotten into or other, less entertaining, occurrences. When dawn came he felt tired to the very core of his bones. The pictures hadn't just ripped open old wounds but made them bigger, given the pain a feeding ground they hadn't had before.

The boy had had his mother's hair but the eyes of the Mar house. Though he was too young to tell from the pictures Damos hoped he would have had his build, lean and fit for action. His dear wife had been strong of will but her body had been frail. He'd often wondered how a frame so tiny had been able to encompass a heart so big.

"Trouble at the gates, my King. That guy Jak is taking care of it for now, but you might want to check in just in case," One of the townspeople informed him, no doubt sent by Kleiver.

"Valentine?" he informed, his voice weary.

"Training in the Arena with Ma'al, sir. Like you ordered her to."

He actually hadn't ordered the Ma'al part but it was better than having the King parading around town in the nude. Several of the residents became impossible to live with in the days after one of those incidents. Not a day went by without him wondering if the King was a blessing or a curse. At least he added some spice to the complaints Damos received from the council every so often.

Rubbing his temple with one hand Damos held the album in his other hand, thinking about his conversation with Valentine the day before. He wanted to dismiss it as pure nonsense. By any reasonable way of thinking he ought to dismiss it as nonsense. But Valentine wasn't the type to make wild claims about the most holy things in her world; Mar and science.

Was there any motivation for her to behave this way? Another person he would have suspected to have ulterior motives. If Jak were to be Mar - impossible, every fiber in his body screamed - then the one to bring them back together could expect some hefty rewards. But Valentine already had everything she wanted. More, as she so keenly reminded him every few days when the council hounded her for not doing her duties.

"Report," He commanded Kleiver when he entered the garage.

The large man scratched the back of his head with a sheepish look on his face. "Well, let's see. I sent the kid out for some relic hunting. Then these Marauders show up like it's a fucking birthday party and we're the cake. The kid's the only one I had out there so I told him to take care of it. Can't open the fucking gates without giving the assholes a chance to shoot at us."

Damos sighed, happy he'd ordered Valentine to spend the day at the Arena. If she'd known Jak was outside fighting the Marauders she would've been over the wall faster than one could say 'idiot'. Not for the first time he considered splitting the two of them up. Warriors shouldn't be so dependent on one another. "How is he faring?"

"Holding his own, like usual. Pulled some stupid-ass stunts like you could've expected. I'll show ya," Kleiver announced, turning the old-fashioned monitor towards Damos.

Gritty black and white lines showed the progress of the battle outside of the gates. Though he noted some very good maneuvers, several which he would have employed himself, there was also more than a fair share of foolhardy ones. Those were made in pride and youthful foolishness. Damos shook his head as he observed. Someone really ought to have a talk with that boy about how to best fight a battle.

For a moment things threatened to get out of hand. Three cars were surrounding the lone buggy, causing Damos to feel a pang of concern. 'Ridiculous!' he chastised himself. 'There is no reason to care.' Unless he was paying heed to Valentine's theory far too much.

Jak pulled a gun, shooting what appeared to be enhanced Peacemaker bullets. The explosions were deafening, shaking even the city gate lightly. He'd heard stories about the destructions the two heroes had wrought back in Haven and he hoped wholeheartedly he wouldn't have to chastise the two of them. He was too old - as were they - to put them over his knee and slap some sense in them.

"Oh yeah, that was sweet! Ugh, Damos!" Jak nearly dropped out of the vehicle when he noticed the older man waiting, recovering with, if not grace, at least a semblance of skill. Clearly the young man thought Damos was still peeved with him.

Damos brought his face closer to that of Jak, examining the fine features of his adopted daughter's paramour. Jak flinched, pulling his face back. "You are nervous?"

"I… ugh… recently had another experience with a guy bringing his face close like that. Long story, don't ask." Jak replied, turning a shade of pink Damos saw rarely on seasoned battlers.

"You were reckless out there," Damos continued, walking around the young man. Jak tried to keep Damos in his field of vision without actually turning around. The orange Ottsel sitting on his shoulder managed to keep its trap shut for once. Damos decided to venture a guess, see how the man would react. "I saw some moves that could have gotten you killed. Didn't your father ever teach you to fight with care for your own life?"

The averted gaze could indicate the man was conjuring up a lie, if it hadn't been redirected to Damos with what was clearly a surprised notion at the turn of the conversation. "I never knew my father."

"Where did you grow up?" Damos pressed on, losing sight of caution for a moment. Rationally speaking he knew Jak couldn't be his son, but hope was such a fickle, stubborn thing. Few things could outlast it and reason could never match it.

Again, hesitation. Was that a calculating look to see how he should lie best, or was he trying to decide what he could tell someone who supposedly didn't know he was from the past? "A small village. Like, insanely small. And if you'd ask someone else they'd probably call it prehistoric, but it was nice enough when the Lurkers weren't trying to overrun it."

"Lurkers would try to overrun your village?" Damos was surprised at the notion. Lurkers were intelligent but oppressed creatures who generally didn't dream of trying to harm others.

The way the boy flinched showed he'd said something he had never meant to. "I- uh… that is, when they were coming to town as merchants. Then there'd be so many it just felt crowded, you know? That's what I meant, obviously."

"What about your family?" Damos asked, less pressing this time. It was obvious the boy didn't attempt to lie to him about his origins, but he was trying to cover those origins up.

Jak scratched the back of his head, white teeth showing in an embarrassed smile. "Well, I never knew my parents, so I don't know if I ever had any siblings. I don't think so, or Valentine would have told me about it. Samos raised me, together with Uncle and the villagers. And then I ended up here and I got to know Torn and the others. No blood relatives though. Not that I know off."

Damos' head was spinning. He knew of the apprentice Green Sage - he had become the Shadow, according to Sig - but Jak placed the Sage in a time where the man couldn't have existed. But the way he spoke indicated that Haven had been a totally new place for him. Samos had never left Haven for as far as Damos knew.

"Sir, are you feeling all right? Want me to get you something?" Jak asked him.

Damos looked in concerned, piercing, cerulean eyes. Mar had eyes like that, according to the pictures. His son had eyes like that. But still, the notion was an impossibility. If Jak was Mar it would mean he had missed so much in his son's life. Too much. It would have been bad enough to have missed the years he had missed Mar. But if Jak was his son he would have missed so many more.

"I'm fine. Hasn't Valentine ever discussed your lineage with you?"

"She said she needed to sort some stuff out first, before she told him," The Ottsel finally broke loose, clambering over his best friend's head to get be part of the conversation.

Jak clasped his hand over the furry mouth. "That's right. She promised she'd tell me, and that I'd be happy that she waited. I don't know if I want to know though. What if they're all dead?" The young man hesitated for a moment, looking to the side. "Even if they're alive, I can't imagine talking to them. I don't know what I would say. How I'd introduce myself."

Something sharp pierced Damos' heart, something that refused to go away after the first reaction. Was it possible? No, surely not? If he was to believe in something as ludicrous as time travel he might as well give up his throne now to spare the city a senile ruler. It didn't help his successor already believed in time travel. But still, there were signs that could be interpreted as evidence.

He started to want it too much, he realized. Better a son that wasn't the age he had expected than no son at all. And Jak would make any father proud. But he shouldn't become sentimental. Wishing for things he couldn't have was a habit he had lost so long ago. "I am sure they would be proud to welcome you in the family."

A shy smile broke through, contrasting with tanned skin. "Thanks."

"For cryin' out loud, Sig, we're not abandoning Haven," Valentine could be heard from far off, followed by an arguing Sig and Ma'al, who seemed to be as unconcerned with everyday life as ever.

"You can't save everyone on this planet, cherry pop. Can't you just focus on this city and be happy with that?"

"Of course I can't be happy with just one city! There are people I care about in Haven!"

"And there's a lot more that don't care a Kanga Rat's ass about you! Don't go throwin' your life on the line of them!" Sig replied, crossing his arms as he towered over the princess he was arguing with.

Ma'al lifted his hands in a reconciliation gesture, though his choice of words only served to throw fuel on the fire. "King Valentine, I am sure your nest mate means to say that the weaker ones of the species are simply meant to die. Only the strong survive, that is just how nature works."

"I can't believe you're taking his side!" Valentine growled, slapping the back of a flat hand on the Metal Head's shoulder.

"I am taking nobody's side, dear King. It's merely reality that dictates my way of thinking," Ma'al tried to pat Valentine on the shoulder, only to be met with a finger practically shoved up his nose.

Damos' adopted daughter shook her head fiercely. "Don't give me that reality bull, Ma'al. You and I both know that reality also dictates people like me and Jak couldn't exist, and we both have been saving everyone's ass for a while now. So I refuse to be told who I can and can not save. And yes, I am looking at you, Sig."

"What is going on this time?" Damos asked, breaking up the fight before it got to migraine-inducing proportions.

Valentine pointed at Sig's face, her finger nary a hair width away from his prosthetic eye. "HE was with me when Seem sent out a distress call and suggested you wouldn't like it if I went out to save them. Then he started spouting nonsense about not saving Haven when things come to the worst."

"Sig would be completely right. Anybody who is not in Spargus right now won't find refuge or protection," Damos replied at once, forgetting the matter of Jak for the moment. At least this was familiar ground, or at least it was until Valentine started to drag her own kind of honor into it.

"That's nonsense. First of all, Seem is my friend so if you think I'm not going to save her, you are dead wrong. She has done her best to help you. Second of all, when was it decided we're not helping Haven?"

"During the days you were in said city, fighting battles you have no business with. It was an unanimous decision," Damos replied, glowering at the impudence of a former Guardian daring to speak at him in that tone.

Valentine's complexion resembled that of a ripe berry at the words. "Well, then you were all unanimously wrong. That's the city for which my parents died in order to protect it. It's the city where your lineage spilled its blood to make sure people could live in peace. I'm not letting something ordinary like world annihilation destroy that ideal."

"This had better not be some way to get back at me for our previous discussion, Valentine," Damos replied almost icily. He didn't intend to be mean to her, but sometimes she had a way of being obstinate without reason. Surely she could see the logic in what he had decided.

Her dark blue eyes flashed between her King and her lover, though she assumed he didn't know the boy had been following her around like a pup. Damos had his own informants in the city and kissing in broad daylight was hardly to be called discreet. "It's not, sir. This is a matter of personal conviction."

"Even if that conviction goes against the direct orders of your king?" Damos asked, knitting his eyebrows together in, not anger, but very closely bordering to frustration. Valentine had been getting more and more disobedient these days. On the one hand it was good because it meant she started to see herself as an equal to himself, necessary if she was to become a fitting Queen for the city in later times. But for now it just meant a lot of headaches and unnecessary arguments.

Valentine hesitated before she took a deep breath. She stood before him both proudly and certain of her case, chin raised up high, like the Queen he hoped she would be one day. "Yes. You may be my King, and you may be my adopted father, but I will be damned if I let people die when I could have stopped it. If you don't like it sir, you may ground me after I've done my duty as I once swore. Because I swore to keep your House safe, and your lineage is." A quick glance towards Jak didn't go unnoticed.

"But after that comes the people. I would be a horrible Guardian, or a princess, or a person, if I just let that happen while I could stop it. It's important sir. So important that, and I can't believe I'm saying it, we're taking the Dune Hopper and we're leaving. We've wasted enough time as it is."

The 'we' obviously referred to her, Jak and Daxter. The two thirds of the group that hadn't been yelling at Damos glanced towards the man, saluting in unison before they were dragged away by Valentine.

"Shouldn't we stop them?" Sig asked, clearly worried. "Seem said something about weird creatures in the temple."

Damos shook his head, seeing the Hopper ride off with a sense of pride in his chest. "No. She'll be back. And when she does I'll tell her she'll be a fine Queen some day."

And then he'd ground her for the coming three years, even if he had to tie her up and sit on her to make it happen.


	48. Temple Run

|Temple|

Valentine gripped the metal frame of the buggy more firmly. Daxter's sharp claws dug in her shoulder, not drawing blood, though that was probably thanks to the sturdy material in her shirt. Jak glanced at her sideways before turning his attention back to the road. "So what did she say exactly?"

"Something about big, dark creatures in the temple and how she didn't think she'd make it," Valentine replied, trying not to the think about the next jump coming up. If someone could just fix the Precursors be damned road, that would be nice! Above them Meta kept a sharp eye on the car, sending out displeased images about Valentine not flying with her.

"And then she asked you to come and save them?" Daxter informed, shouting to make himself audible over the noise of the car.

Valentine shrugged, her stomach queasy when Jak initiated the final jump. On the way down she closed her eyes. Of course Kleiver hadn't installed the safety belts either. "Not really. More like saying her last words and asking forgiveness. I told her to shut up and sit tight. She's the reason I actually survived these past few years. There's no way I'm letting her die."

Jak was about to reply when something dark appeared in front of them. The hero slammed the brakes and yanked the steering wheel, both actions to no avail. Screeching the car hit the creature in front of them, nearly toppling over as they did so. When they'd stopped dust billowed around them, no sound to be heard except the howling desert wind.

"What the fuck was that?" Daxter demanded to know, jumping out of the car to take a look. At once he started to panic. "Oh fuck, we're going to jail! We hit something. We created roadkill and now we're all going to suffer for it! Jak, what are we going to do?"

Valentine followed en suite, happy to get out of the car. Their hapless victim was sprawled on the ground, half the skull smashed in. Bits of gore colored the sand a rusty red, the unmoving body contrasting sharply with the sand.

With a trained eye she gave it a quick examination. With talons the length of her underarm and teeth like surgery needles there was no doubt about how things would go in a fight. Perhaps more disturbing was the gun implanted just beneath the creatures' open hand. "Dax, I'm pretty sure nobody is going to mind us killing that thing."

Meta made a rather strange, gagging sound as she landed a bit further. Then she sent Valentine an image of Ma'al and a shadow looming over him, dwarfing the Metal King. The emotion it evoked was clearly one of intimidation and even fear.

"What is it?" Jak asked, poking it with his gun. The body sounded dense, the skin almost as hard as armor.

"Fugly!" Daxter at once replied, scurrying back to Jak for safety.

Valentine knelt down next to the creature. "From what I can see, not very friendly. Must be a sentry we accidentally knocked out. It could be- yeowch." She hissed when she touched some of the still hot blood. At once dark sparks had flown towards her, giving her the familiar feeling of Dark Eco.

"If they're not the Dark Makers themselves then I'm guessing they're buddies. I've seen enough Metals to know they're not one of those. Guess Seem was right about something going on. Then again, appearances aren't everything. They might be frien-"

A shot slammed in the body, only inches from her nose. With a screech she fell back, seeing how a hole the size of a fist was slammed in the now certainly dead sentry. Dark blood sprayed the air. Jak already fired a single shot to their left. After that the only sound was Meta hissing at the unprovoked attack.

"Don't seem too friendly to me," Jak announced, seemingly calm with the situation. He checked his gun once more, switching for the yellow mod. He flexed his fingers, motioning Valentine to get back up. Daxter made a point of clinging to Jak's shoulder, looking around for possible threats. The rodent looked a little green around the snout.

Valentine dusted herself off, trying not to look at the hole in the alien lest she end up looking like Daxter. She didn't think she'd puke but then again, she hadn't seen alien guts before. She'd rather not risk it. "So… temple full of hostiles and Seem is somewhere in there. I don't suppose there's any way we can do this without getting caught?"

Daxter looked around. "Well, there's the four of us. Even if it's the Dark Makers I don't think they'll be able to stand against us."

"The longer we're standing around here, the less chance we'll have of finding Seem alive. Still, they're your friend, Val. What do you want us to do?" Jak added, keeping a watch for any more enemies. Above them the Day Star was visible, a second sun lighting up in the sky.

She breathed shakily. What did she want to do? Preferably save everybody without someone getting killed, that would be nice. And that sure as hell wasn't happening if she kept standing around here. "We're going in. We came here to save Seem and we're not backing out now."

Those words were enough to draw a nod from Jak. Their little group stood in front of the temple gates, the shade only slightly less scorching than the sun had been. Valentine had to remind herself to keep breathing as they walked inside. Looking around they found hardly any signs that there had been an invasion until they reached the 'spider corridor'.

It seemed the spiders hadn't impressed the Dark Makers quite as much as they had Valentine. Piles of them were spread around, most of them hardly more than a few legs attached to a thorax. A few of them had survived the carnage, though the stragglers didn't seem interested in putting up a fight. The dead spiders frightened her more than the living ones ever had.

"I thought I couldn't hate spiders any more," she whispered, not wanting to attract any attention. They stepped around the bodies, making as few of them 'crunch' as they moved. Jak put a reassuring hand on her shoulder, nearly making her jump in the air. Visibility became lower and lower as the lit torches dwindled in number.

A sound in front of them made them freeze. Heavy footsteps stomped just around the bend, squashing a spider as they moved. Odd, zooming sounds mingled with a strange gurgle reached them. Meta sent an image of the creatures they had seen outside.

Valentine paused, holding up her hand in the air. She turned to Jak, pointing to herself and then to the road ahead of them.

He shook his head at once, holding up his gun in the air.

Another head shake from her. If he went shooting that thing they'd have the entire swarm on them. Sound traveled fast. She tried signing that to him but he'd grown rusty, not understanding half of what she meant. The longer they waited the bigger the chances they'd be discovered. Rolling her eyes she slid a knife from her boots, sending Meta the image to keep Jak here but to do it as quiet as possible.

Slowly she put her foot down, placed a finger to her lips and inclined her head.

Aggravated he nodded, gesturing for her to go along.

Valentine steadied her breath, making sure to tread lightly. One step at a time while she tried to ignore the blood pounding in her ears. Had the temple always been this hot? Still, picking them off one by one would be better than taking on all of them at the same time.

She scooted around the wall in one of the round rooms connecting the corridors. Before she had ducked inside the next one the footsteps grew heavier, moving towards where she was standing. With her heart leaping to her throat she stopped. The sound grew louder.

And the Dark Maker walked past her, not even noticing her there. There was only the heartbeat to make a decision. Let it walk towards Jak, forcing him to shoot a bullet? Or jump it?

The thing was her size and a half, but that didn't deter her. Taking a chance she sent out a mental message to the thing, the same like she did when dealing with lesser Metal Heads.

Luck wasn't with her that day. The creature jerked when her knife entered it's throat, but the reply to the mental attack was even more severe. At once she was thrown back against the wall, her arms losing all strength when the creature went in the offensive.

"INSECT!"

Valentine gasped for air as hot needles pricked her all over, screaming when the Dark Maker continued. "Surrender!"

She didn't even hear the shot, or the Maker falling to the ground. Her heavy breathing subsided when Meta licked the side of her face. With ragged breath she looked at Jak who had dropped to his knees next to her. "Guess taking them out slowly isn't an option."

She wiped her mouth with her sleeve, tasting blood. In her panic she'd bitten her tongue. "I underestimated them. Next time I'll be more careful."

They were strong, no doubt about that. But not stronger than Ma'al. It had been panic and surprise that had done her in.

"We have to go on. You ready?" Jak nudged her, though he didn't seem to happy about it.

She nodded, getting back on her feet. The rest of the way Jak took care of the Dark Makers. When they threw up a shield Valentine would mentally assault them, breaking their concentration long enough for Jak to kill them. It was hard work, and tiring. The longer they went on the more her legs felt like they could cave in any moment. When they found a room that had a trap in it she felt relieved; the Dark Eco was a different sort of control and granted her a breather.

When they arrived back at the Precursor Statue room Daxter jumped from Jak's shoulder, relieved to be in a safe area. "Hey, goober eyes! Just so ya know, the temple is overrun. What'cha planning on doing against it?"

The statues eyes slid open as invisible cogs started to turn once more. "The Dark Ones will stop at nothing, yet we are unable to stop them. All our hope rests on you."

Valentine and Jak both sighed deeply. "Any chance you can tell us where Seem is?" Valentine asked.

It was silent for a moment. "The monks have retreated to the inner chambers. The path there is long and arduous, through rooms filled with traps. You can see the end of the path above you."

Jak considered the doorway, barely visible in the dark. "I don't think I've got enough ammo left to make the trip. What about you?"

Valentine shook her head. "The only way I'm getting all the way up there is if you're prepared to carry me. This place is too huge."

"You would do better to get to the catacombs and activate the weapon," the Precursor statue suggested.

"Yeah, well, this discussion is only open to the chumps that have to do the legwork. So you can shut your big trap," Daxter replied, making sure to hide behind Jak's legs as he made his point. He hadn't forgotten what had happened last time he'd gotten in a fight with the statue.

Meta patted over next to Jak and swiped Daxter in her mouth. Before any of them could protest the Metal Head flew up to the doorway depositing the struggling Ottsel. With what was a very toothy grin the animal looked down on the two remaining companions.

"What is it with you and the slobber every fucking time?" Daxter cried out from above.

Valentine shrugged. "Well, seems like that solves our problem. Never underestimate a Metal. Sometimes I think she's smarter than Ma'al."

Meta had no problem transporting them one by one and looked extremely pleased when she had completed this task. After a few kisses from Valentine and a pat on the head by Jak she considered herself paid well enough. The group looked down for a moment, towards the statue that had been especially unhelpful.

"I still think it's weird," Valentine commented in a whisper as they continued walking.

"What, the statue with the obvious need for some common sense?" Daxter asked her, his voice echoing along the corridor.

Valentine flinched at the sound, hoping there was nothing worse waiting for them ahead. "Yeah. I mean, it's not a pre-recorded message because they are talking with us. But… statues aren't sentient in general. But it doesn't look like it can move either or I'm sure it'd have helped us out a little bit."

"Wouldn't be too sure of that one," Daxter commented again. When he caught the glare from his friends he shrugged. "Well, let's be honest here, who's done all of the world-saving up until now? No matter what adventure we've had, they were as helpful as Kleiver's toothbrush."

"Can't really say he's wrong," Jak conceded.

Valentine grunted, crossing her arms over one another. There was still something weird about the statue and how it sounded. Odds she'd be able to ever find out what were growing slimmer by the second. Strangely enough the corridor they had entered had started going ever more and more upward, leading them to rely on Meta once more in some points. Valentine had never estimated the temple to be built so high.

Finally they approached a large door. The Precursor Steel gleamed faintly in the fading torchlight. Valentine started banging on it, the dull reverberations echoing in the hall. She thought she heard a faint whimper on the other side, but that could have just been the door creaking.

"Seem? You in there? Rescue mission has arrived!"

It was silent for a few moments. Jak came to stand next to her, pressing his ear against the door along with her. Faintly they could hear the monk's voice from the other side. "Valentine? I thought I told you not to come."

"You know how well I handle orders. Are you opening up or what?"

"Is the Dark Maker gone?"

Valentine glanced to the side. "What Maker, there was nothing when we got he-'

A shot landed right between the heroes, the heat scorching their faces. Valentine jerked her head to the side, seeing Jak do the same. But he had a gun and all she had brought was a few knives. One shot from him and the first assailant went down. She reached down her boot and flung a knife. It lodged in a throat. The Dark Maker gurgled, falling to its knees.

More were coming after them. Valentine growled along with Meta at the sight of them. Then the Metal Head flung herself to the center of the horde, teeth flashing in the dim light. A Dark Maker thought to shoot her friend from behind.

"No you fucking don't," Valentine snarled, kicking it in the knee joint. With a surprised grunt it fell down on one knee. Not wasting time on fancy tricks Valentine slammed her knife where she supposed a jugular was supposed to be.

"Val, duck!"

She obeyed Jak's command, bullets spraying over her head only a second after. Meta had listened as well, snarling as more of the Makers fell down. The last one of the group fell down, twitching oddly as dark blood oozed from chest wounds.

"And stay down!" Daxter shouted. Then he looked at the girls in the team. "Not you, ladies. I was talking about tall, dark and fugly on the ground."

Valentine twitched as she could hear something in the distance. Heavy feet tapping on the ground as reinforcements were coming, ready to replace fallen comrades. With a jerk of her head she gestured for Meta to come to them. Behind her Jak was already banging on the door once more.

It opened before Valentine could join in. Seem pulled them inside before slamming the door shut once again. A few monks started to haul stray furniture in front of it once more, which explained why they hadn't been let inside sooner. "Is this all of them?"

Seem nodded before gesturing to a portal in the middle of the room. "Most of us managed to get away until the power broke down. We assume the Dark Makers have something to do with it."

Valentine nodded, surprising Seem by grabbing the woman in a bone-crunching hug. "Don't make me worry that much about you, stupid monk."

When Seem was released she shook her arms awkwardly, looking any direction except at Valentine. "I have no idea what you are talking about."

"You mean, you don't remember working with Veger or disappearing from Spargus?" Valentine asked, sarcasm quick to replace the relief she had felt at seeing her friend safe.

"How did you know?" Seem asked, before thinking better of it. "All I wanted was to keep my monks safe. But now Count Veger has decided to bring salvation on his own terms and the Dark Makers have started their descent on this planet. I warned you so you could protect Spargus."

"What do you mean, protect Spargus? You're the ones that needed protecting," Jak pointed out.

"We had accepted our fate. Do you think the temple is the only place the Dark Makers are going to invade? As we speak the city is probably under attack," Seem sounded a tad snippy.

Valentine and Jak shared the 'oh fuck our lives' look. Then both of them sighed. Valentine waved a hand towards the portal. "We're going to need Dark Eco if we're going to get out of here with everyone. Think we can drag one of the bodies in here?"

The monks nodded, none seeming too happy about actually doing it. Jak grabbed his gun just in case as he made for the door once more. Valentine moved to follow him but was stopped when Seem grabbed her wrist. She turned to look at her friend, raising her eyebrows in a question.

"Thank you for coming, Valentine."

She sighed, before showing a faint smile. "Well, I couldn't let you die out here. Who else is going to keep forcing gross concoctions down my throat? People like that aren't easy to find. But you have some explaining to do on the way back."

Seem nodded. "I will tell you everything I know."


	49. Spargus Defended

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> To be honest, sometimes I forget Ma'al isn't actually a canon character.

|Wasteland|

Sandy dunes rushed by underneath Valentine as Meta's wings carried the both of them toward Spargus. Jak was following with the monks, using the safe buggies they preferred for getting around in the desert. Sadly safe also meant sluggish, something which they really didn't need at the moment. 'Speed was of the essence', at least that was what Seem had said.

Which was why Valentine had agreed to go ahead, leaving Jak to listen to Seem's explanations. She would ask questions of her own, eventually. First she had to make sure there was still a city to return to. Damos would have her hide and she couldn't blame him if he did. Apart from princess she was first and foremost his general, the one who needed to command if the King wasn't available. And she was supposed to be by his side at this time.

Meta climbed in height as she flew, giving Valentine the opportunity of scouting ahead. If the desert sand wouldn't have choked her, Valentine would have dropped open her mouth in awe. Because in the distance, rushing towards them at an almost sickening speed, she could very clearly see a Metal King wrestle down what looked to be an enlarged Dark Maker.

Tentatively she reached out to Ma'al, showing him what she saw, adding a questioning feel to the image. This time he didn't assault her with words but flickered an image back. Teeth like lances snapped closed in front of him while the thing attempted to pull him in the watery depths of the ocean.

So it _was_ her friend who was helping to keep Spargus safe. The communication ended there. She didn't want to risk distracting him out of fear of somehow causing him to lose. Instead she directed Meta to the shore where Kleiver managed to kill two Dark Makers in one go, a trick which had her very impressed, before he turned back to the big gun.

"Where's the King?" She asked as soon as they touched the ground, thankful he at least didn't try to shoot the Dark Maker Ma'al was fighting.

Kleiver wiped dark droplets of blood from his face, cringing at feeling of the diluted Dark Eco on bare skin. When he looked at her he seemed as displeased as ever. "He's out near the center plaza, making sure the kids and recruits are staying put in the barracks. A job which you should be doing."

"Why yes, me and Jak did make sure the monks survived all of this. Thank you for asking," Valentine retorted at the rebuke, mostly because deep down she knew the man was right. Seem might have been her friend, but it had been her duty to remain here. Knowing that didn't lessen the sting of it at all, on the contrary.  
"Make sure you don't kill Ma'al. I like him."

Kleiver grunted something before taking a few new shots at other creatures that fell down in the water. Shaking her head she hoped Jak would be here soon. He was the one who was supposed to be firing the big gun - or whatever Kleiver had nicknamed it - and she was fairly sure he wouldn't accidentally kill the Metal King.

Meta flew her to the square where Damos and his bodyguards were guarding the entrance to the barracks. She jumped down, landing just behind her King while Meta flew off to cause some damage of her own.  
Before she could say something Damos flicked her on the head. "Owch!"

"That's for leaving your post in a time of crisis," her King reminded her, taking a shot at one of the Dark Makers that was without a shield for the moment.

"Duly noted, sir. Their shields don't reach around the back so if someone could shoot them from there?" Valentine shouted the last part over the courtyard. Though most of the Spargus dwellers had caught on to that trick there had been a few denser ones in the mix. Maybe the knowledge would speed up the battle more.  
"Casualties?"

Damos grunted as he launched another shot, distracting a Maker before he could gobble up a Kanga Rat. The creatures didn't seem too adept at knowing which life forms were actually a danger to them.  
"Too many already, and the number will keep rising if we do not get rid of these invaders soon. Where's… where is Jak?"

Valentine caught the pause in his voice, the way he didn't look her in the eye when he posed the question. For a moment she regretted telling Damos for the distraction it caused him. But darn it, she hadn't known the city would be attacked. Wasn't there supposed to be someone giving them until midnight? Sometimes it felt like decent villains had just gone out of style.  
"He'll be here soon, together with the monks. Seem has things to tell us as well."

"Go into the town, help where you can. We will keep this place safe," Damos ordered her, gesturing to the throng of combatants.

Though the order sunk to the depths of her core - she didn't want Damos to be left undefended even if he could take care of himself - she obeyed. She'd been disobedient enough lately and maybe, just this once, she could make the man proud to call her his daughter.  
With a salute and a smirk that was saucy as always she sprang away, accepting a dagger from one of the guards as she did so. Before she'd moved far she climbed a ladder, both to get a higher viewpoint and to slip detection from the Makers. With all the ruckus on the ground very few thought about looking up.

The tactic proved to be a successful one. She would have to thank the Precursors for that because she didn't have the energy to take them on mentally. At one point during the battle she saw Jak rushing by, followed by the monks. Their eyes met for a second and then he was gone, leaving her to dispatch a Maker that had just a tad too much interest in the fleeing holy people.

Apart from those few flickers she had no concept of time. How long had they been fighting, how many more were there? Her fingers ached from the tight grip she held on the dagger, her muscles screamed for rest as she climbed another ladder. No time to breathe, no chance to take it easy. If she let up people could get killed. She jumped down, knife slashing down into an unprotected throat. Dark blood burnt her fingers, gushing from the wound.

"King Valentine, it is done," Ma'al spoke from behind her as she searched for the next Dark Maker. Startled she looked over her shoulder, seeing the King once again transformed. He looked pale beneath his tan, sweat beaded on his brow. Judging from the blood covering the right part of his robes he hadn't gotten out of the fight without a few scrapes.  
That was when she noticed the dark blood covering her from head to toe. There wasn't a clean way to slice a throat and this stuff had the added affect of burning like hell. Disgusted she started to wipe herself clean, aided when Ma'al threw a bucket of water over her head. Light purple water ran down from her body, sinking in the saturated desert sand. "Thanks."

Ma'al inclined his head before being accosted by one of the Spargan women who insisted on getting him patched up. Valentine shrugged when she noted how the King, who had just battled with huge Dark Makers, now seemed very intimidated by what seemed to be a woman just nearing her twenties, the top of her head barely reaching over his chest. "Female Rae, I assure you, this wound means nothing."

One day she was going to tattoo the word 'miss' on one of his hands to make sure he didn't forget. The other hand she reserved for a guideline on etiquette concerning interaction with the opposite gender, provided she figured that out for herself one day.

What she really wanted was drop down on the ground and not stand up for the coming few days. The only thing stopping her was the knowledge she would be falling in a puddle of Dark Eco-saturated sand, which wasn't beneficial to anyone.

Making the heroic effort of walking over to a clean rock she caught the words 'flesh wound', 'antiseptic' and 'I have seen my share of poison, female Rae'. Perhaps she ought to provide a bottle of liquor to tend to Ma'al, that should give him a reason to steer clear of the stuff.

"Val, you okay?" Jak trotted up to her, Daxter bouncing up and down on his shoulder. Though covered in dust and sweat he seemed relatively unharmed, if just as exhausted as she was. Then again, he had the handy healing power. She didn't think she was hurt, apart from a nasty scratch on the inside of her arm and the wound on her head that had felt as if it might have opened during the battle.

"I think so. Would have been tough if one more of them showed up," she allowed, scanning over the area she was sitting. She hadn't realized they had moved the battle to the beach area. Currently they were in the middle of the market, surrounded by squashed fruits and sliced vegetables. The nearby sea looked to be tinted purple as well, which might have something to do with the gigantic corpses floating about.

Daxter startled when one of the bodies was pulled down by a giant tentacle. "What's that thing?!"

"Giant squid," Valentine said with decidedly the wrong amount of agitation for a giant cephalopod. "Doesn't usually pop up, useless in a fight and generally snacks on stupid swimmers." Though she was glad it hadn't decided to eat Ma'al while he had been fighting in the water. That would have made a right mess.

"Woman, you are not freaking out as you should! How long have you known that thing is there?" Daxter shouted, clearly feeling more energetic than all of his companions combined.

Jak stood next to her, she realized. Weary she rested her head against his thigh, closing her eyes. "Years… I don't know, Daxter. The squid just eats the leftovers from the Arena."

There was something about a huge creature in watery depths that didn't scream 'investigate me' to the inhabitants of Spargus. Even Valentine hadn't been stupid enough to venture in. Being on the menu card of a giant calamari wasn't her idea of a good time.  
The touch of Jak's hand on the crown of her head made her realize she'd been talking out loud. Shutting up at once she opened her eyes again, saw him look down with an amused smile playing around his lips. Behind them Ma'al had finally stopped his protests, allowing his wounds to be tended to.

Seem arrived to the scene as well, followed by other monks who fanned out to aid in treating the injured and recovering the dead from their fallen foes. The monk stopped in front of Valentine, stooping down a tiny bit yet careful not to touch the sand. In her hands was a bottle filled with clear liquid.

"Not one of your dirty potions again, Seem," Valentine groaned.

"It will restore some of your energy. I suggest you drink it before the King wishes to speak with you," Seem sounded not quite amused but reassured by Valentine's behavior.

Valentine accepted the bottle and brought it to her mouth. Unlike most of the concoctions Seem made her drink, this was a tad sweet. Not at all like how her medicine had tasted. And she did feel energy washing back in her limbs. "Nice. Why don't you make all your potions taste like this?"

"Because sometimes sweetness detracts from the effectiveness," Seem said slowly, handing Jak and Daxter a bottle as well.

Valentine quickly downed the rest of the bottle. Daxter was the only one in the group who wasn't drinking, instead keeping an eye on the ocean and spouting theories about the squid coming up to eat them all. When she reached the bottom Valentine closed the bottle once again and handed it back to Seem. "So… you had some things to tell us?"

The monk nearly dropped her collected water bottles, fumbling for a decent grip as if they had been oiled in the minute they had left her hands. Was that a slight tinge of pink on Seem's cheeks? "Yes… I did… I did say that."

"Seem, relax. If I wanted you dead I could have left you in the temple. Just tell us what you know, and we'll talk about the why later," Valentine reassured her friend. She could guess the why, somewhat. It just really sucked that Seem had been playing for two camps all this time.

"Of course," Seem agreed, moving her fingers in intricate patterns as she spoke. The sign language was unique to her order of monks and used it seemed to soothe the monk.

"I am truly sorry for what I have done, Valentine. We assisted Count Veger in finding the Catacombs. He assured us he would only use the power of the Precursors for good. And I fear now he has betrayed us. As we speak he is forever coming closer to finding a way to the main chamber. He plans on using the weapon to destroy the world, after which he will demand full reign over the planet."

"As if anyone is going to give Count Nutjob that position," Daxter shouted, finally tearing his eyes away from the sea.

Valentine frowned. "They will if he's the one that saved us all. We know better, but to the masses he's just a regular guy who will have defeated the biggest threat in our entire history."

"We did that at least two or three times up until now!" Daxter protested.

"From zero to fake hero," Jak concluded, folding his arms over one another as he shifted his weight from one leg to the other.

"In no time flat," Valentine concluded in a grim tone. "All he needs to do is fire that weapon, gather the proof and he'll be elected in no time."

Daxter argh-ed in frustration. "I should have documented his plans to get rid of bikinis. That would have prevented anyone from supporting Vegan."

"Where is the weapon, exactly?" Jak asked Seem.

The monk glanced at the Day Star, almost shining brighter than the now setting sun. "The entrance is buried in the root of the Metal nest in Haven. When Veger destroyed the palace he had hoped to get immediate access to it but the Metal Heads had arrived sooner. He could not get past them."

"Didn't we drop a factory on that part of town?" Daxter asked, as if he wasn't quite sure if that had really happened.

Valentine pinched the bridge of her nose, taking deep breaths. "We did. And we probably made his job of getting in there a whole lot easier by doing that."

"Veger is not as fast as the two of you. I know you can still beat him, provided you leave now. I had a message sent out for the transport to be readied, you can be there in a matter of hours." Seem suggested, hands busier than ever in signing out her words.

Valentine wanted to nod yes, she wanted to take off. Save the world and make sure everything was okay. But… "Jak, you'll have to go alone."

This was enough to startle the blond who had already started to check his ammo for the trip. "What?!"

She ran her hands through her hair - somewhere during the fighting she'd lost her favorite scrunchie, not that she would want it back now - as she straightened out her thoughts. "Damos needs me here. Kleiver was right, I should have stayed here. I'm supposed to help look after these people, not run around doing whatever I might please."

"So you'd rather be on clean-up duty than help us save the world?" Of course the Ottsel didn't understand her at all.

Jak seemed to understand better, if by a margin. "I get it. But… I'd feel better if I knew you had my back while I was in there. Big Metal Heads, certain destruction… makes me less nervous than having to go there alone."

She fumbled around in her pockets, certain she had- ah, there it was. With a smile she showed him her Spargus Seal, the mark of a true citizen. Standing up she pressed it in his hands. "You're not officially a citizen yet, but I'll lend this to you just in case. Press the button and the cavalry will come charging to help you."

Valentine looked away, scratching the back of her head. "I know it's not as good as having me tag along, but, well… at least this way we'll be together in a small way."

"You're sure about this? I mean, you can start being responsible after all this has been cleared up. It's not like they'll be needing you that much, the place still looks great," Jak replied, putting the small seal in his back pocket.  
This was the moment one of the remaining market stalls decided to crumble in on itself, sending clouds of dust billowing away from the scene. "Okay, that's just one stall. It's not like that is going to make a difference."

Valentine chuckled and pressed her lips against his cheek. "I'm staying here to man the fort while you kick Veger's ass. There's always a chance more Dark Makers decide to show up and somebody needs to help Damos keep things under control. You go and save the world."  
When Jak opened his mouth to protest she flipped his nose. "I'm sure about this. Everything is going to be just fine."

Finally he nodded. Before departing he wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her close. He rested his forehead against hers, taking a few slow breaths. "We're going to make it. Right?"

She nodded, kissing him before he could press his lips against her. "We will. We always do."


	50. Fear

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So anyway this is like the chapter I'm second most unhappy with. Or most unhappy with. I need to rewrite it someday, because it was supposed to lead up to more awesomeness later in the story but somehow it never happened.

|Spargus|

"… and then there is the damage to the storage rooms, which amounts to…" Valentine spoke out loud, the tip of her tongue poking from between her lips every once in a while. Numbers swam in front of her eyes as she realized how much damage the attack had caused to the city. Most of the resources they'd managed to gather in the past year had been contaminated by Dark Eco. Then there were the casualties. They had won, but they wouldn't make it through another two battles like the one they'd had today.  
Weary she rubbed her eyes, reaching for the cup of coffee on her desk. When it touched her lips she cringed at the cold liquid. She hadn't realized she'd been working this long. Every once in a while Meta would update her about the conditions outside, though most of it was giving her an idea of how cleanup was faring.

"There you are. What you doin' holed up in here?" Sig asked as he walked in the room, holding a steaming plate of food in one hand. Valentine caught the delicious aroma of roasted Leaper Lizard like only Macie could deliver.

Grateful she accepted the plate, barely waiting until Sig handed her the necessary utensils so she wouldn't burn her hands. She replied in between mouthfuls, taking the minimum amount of time to blow on her food. "Damos wanted me to give him an overview of the city status. It's not looking pretty."

"Eat with your damn mouth closed," Sig told her at once, not keen on seeing too much of a thoroughly chewed lizard. Valentine rolled her eyes before continuing her meal while Sig asked another question. "How bad is it?"

"Disasterrific," Valentine explained at once.

"Wha?"

"Spargus was a plate of 'doin' great' and the Makers bombarded us with failsauce."

"You been spending too much time with Daxter! How 'bout some plain English, cherrypop?" Sig growled.

Valentine rolled her eyes before swallowing her food. "Basically the attack set us back a whole nine months, and that's not counting casualties on our side. Not that it matters much because if we don't destroy that Day Star Ship the entire planet will be a puddle of cosmic goo. Not even Damas can build a civilization from that."

The tall man nodded, clearly glad he'd eaten before being sent to the princess of Spargus. "Right. Seem actually sent me to get ya, there's a live Maker on her operating table."

Valentine stood up so quickly the food spilled from her lap. The plate landed on the ground with a loud clang, boiled potatoes scattering across the room. "She's got WHAT?"

"Relax, it's safe or I wouldn't be here. Thing's got his legs ripped clean off and the monks managed to restrain it. They want you to have a chat with it, since Ma'al went back to check on his nest and escape his horde of fangirls."

Valentine grabbed her cold mug of coffee - caffeine was caffeine no matter what the temperature and Precursors did she need it - and practically ran out of the door. Over her shoulder she talked to Sig while they made their way towards the monks' quarters. "That makes it sound like I was the second choice, you know?"

"That's because you were the second choice. Seem thinks you don't have the necessary diplomacy to wheedle information from someone," Sig replied as he nearly ran over one of the monks, cursing about how they should all grow a few inches stat.

"If she's talking about that one guy, she needed an excuse to keep him in the infirmary, he was rude and we were late for lunch. Everything worked out fine." The heroine explained in a 'one plus two equals three last time I checked'.

Sig did a double-take at the statement. "He had to eat through a straw for months!"

"He was a Marauder and Damos was throwing him in the Arena either way. Seem just needed to ask him some que- oh hey, where's your boss?" Valentine stopped one of the more robust monks, only sneezing once due to the scent of heavy incenses. Despite still being in the palace, here there was a sense of serenity and inner peace. At least until something otherworldly screeched from a room further down.

"My money's on that room."

"No gambling in our quarters!" The monk half-shouted in indignation at Sig's remark.

Valentine walked up ahead, fairly confident Sig would follow her eventually, after getting lectured about proper behavior in holy circles. Following the sound of high-pitched squeaks and loud gurgling, like someone was plunging a toilet, she arrived in one of the hospital rooms.  
In the center of the room was the still living upper half of a Maker, screeching hellishly at the surrounding monks. Valentine at once noted the Light Eco crystals surrounding the creature, and how the monks made sure to stay at a safe distance. She whistled, the sound drained out by more shrieking when the thing saw someone new arriving.

"And you said I was crazy for hanging out with the Metal Heads. We have got to get a pet that doesn't mess up your floor like this." Not to mention the smell. The heavy scent of blood in the cool chamber nearly had her gagging. If it hadn't been for her love of food Valentine might have thrown up, no matter how much worse it would have made things. She was barely keeping her lizard inside of her stomach as it was.

"This is no time for your jokes," Seem at once reprimanded her. "We managed to find this one alive and thought it would be best to gather information. Sadly it does not speak our language, nor we theirs."

Valentine nodded. "And since I told you I did communicate with it, you called me."

"Actually we wanted-"

"Ma'al, but he's not here," Valentine finished the sentence with a sigh. They probably wanted her to stay cooped up with the paper work instead of getting up to her elbows in blood. There was a strong sense of Damas having set them up to that.

Meanwhile the thing was thrashing on the ground against chains she had not noticed before. From the way the shackles creaked menacingly Valentine guessed the only reason the monks still lived was because the creature was weakened.  
Valentine took a few deep breaths, knowing now how much force these things had in them. Well, as Torn would say, hit them hard and fast before they do worse to you. She lashed out towards the thing with a firm image of how it looked to her, injured and torn in half, and how much survival would depend on keeping her happy.

It replied at once, jumbled words mixed in with the message. Unlike the creature that had spoken to her in the temple, this one was nowhere near coherent. She supposed missing half a body would do that. Still, the images it sent to her were clear; thousands of Dark Makers swarming down on the planet, killing what they could for sport before they'd either contaminate the planet or blow it up.

The images made her feel sick to her very core but she pushed them away, making what she knew to be a vain attempt at bargaining. She thought she was talking to Seem, her mouth was moving and making sounds at the very least. But her mind was too busy coping with the steady stream of threats the Maker was delivering.

Thinking of a possible threat to send the creature, the first thing that popped in her head was Ma'al in his natural form. Nothing like a big, bad and feral looking King to cool down an enemy after all. The image was received, before being warped into something that looked like an intact Maker that dwarfed the planet. Valentine fought to remain standing on her feet. Her insides felt like they might come to a boil any second, her skin sending wafts of heat up in the chilly air.

Seem touched her, the monk's hands cool on her burning skin. Valentine couldn't hear what Seem was saying, sending image after image to the Maker in an attempt to make it see they couldn't win. Every single time it sent back something else, something bigger or meaner. It acted as if it had never experienced fear.

Fear.

Perhaps it had never experienced fear, and didn't know what it would feel like. Perhaps all this confidence merely came from an incomprehension of fear. Valentine on the other hand knew the emotion all too well and was prepared to share it. From somewhere far away she thought she heard Seem talking to her. Valentine took a step closer to the Maker, hardly noticing how the monks attempted to stop her.

"You want to know why you should steer clear of this place?" she asked. At least she thought she did.

Somewhere deep inside her, covered in layers of happiness and anger, sass and love and all other emotions that made her who she was there was still a core that would never shed her inner fears. Deep down she still carried the memory of a twelve-year old girl that had been captured by Praxis.

Her breath hitched as she started to remember. This wasn't her thinking about the past while laying in bed, or telling Jak what it had been like for her. For this to work she had to distill how her heart had threatened to stop when chains jangled or heavy boots stomped on dirty floors. How dread had frozen her blood as there had been a new scream, the kind that came from within and could only be accompanied with a last breath. Pure panic as big hands grabbed her and held her down while straps were tied around her wrists.

Every single detail she transferred to the Maker, the images just seeds for the emotion. Somewhere along the line the buzzing and shrieking of anger transformed until the monks covered their ears in fear. But she still had more, so much more pain to share. All she needed to do was-

A slap landed on her cheek so hard her head jerked to the side. Dazed Valentine blinked and realized she had been crying. Gingerly she touched her cheek, wincing at the tender, hot spot before she cast an accusing look on Seem.

"What was that for?"

Seem nursed her offending fingers with the other hand, grimacing in pain. "You were getting out of control. And, like I suspected, you have no talent for interrogation."

Valentine followed Seem's gaze to the ground. The Maker had at some point clawed open its own throat to get away from the new emotion Valentine had forced into it's brain. Dark blood seeped from the open cut, adding to the growing pool on the floor. "Holy hell, did I do that?"  
She hadn't even noticed there had been no recipient for her images and feelings.

"Did you manage to learn anything from it?" Seem asked, flexing her fingers. Slapping Valentine must have hurt the monk more than it had the recipient. None of the surrounding monks appeared very eager to remove the corpse.

Valentine nodded her head, pressing the tips of her fingers to her sore jaw. Who'd have thought Seem packed such a punch? Tentatively she moved her jaw back and forth to check if anything felt loose. Focusing on physical pain was easier than dealing with emotional pain after all. She'd rather get herself under control before facing someone who might ask questions. If she heard the words 'are you okay' she might burst out in tears there and then.

"Only that they consider themselves to be pretty much above all of creation. As far as their plans for this world are concerned, they've got termination, annihilation and elimination on the menu. Not necessarily in that order."

Quickly she wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes. "They don't handle emotions very well though. Namely fear gets them to their knees quickly, as demonstrated by this one." If it had had any knees, that is. Snark was also a good way of handling emotional trauma. Once this was over she'd need a good cry-session with Jak, preferably under the cover of a sob movie.

Seem nodded, her hands flashing signals to the other monks who looked like they would be rather be anywhere else than in this room. "We will inform the king of this. You should get some rest. Things are not over quite yet."

"Tell me about it. Now I have more paperwork to look forward to," Valentine tried to joke, taking a deep breath. Maybe there was another way besides bullets and sheer terror to take these things out. For a moment she considered pumping them full of Light Eco - it seemed to disagree with them - before she realized there wasn't really that much of a supply of it either way.

Seem walked her back to the tiny office waiting for Valentine, talking softly about meditation exercises Valentine could do to get level-headed once more. The monk was met with a soft, non-committing groan every once in a while as Valentine walked with her hands wrapped around her waist. While she was mentally trying to shake herself back in tough bitch mode something hard and cold hit her in the head.

With an 'oomph' she landed on the shiny tiles, Torn's gravely voice resounding in her poor pointy ears. "Valentine, that better be you!"

"Torn… you caught me by surprise," she muttered, picking herself up from the ground. If this kept up she would have more injuries from friendlies than from hostiles.

The sleek, silvery communication device hovered innocently in the air. It would have seemed completely harmless if not for the now perceptible dent right next to the audio system. Judging from the size of it, the matching bruise would be one for the record books. She was lucky that way.

Seem helped her to her feet, stumbling under the weight of a dizzy Valentine. "To what do I owe the pleasure of this call?"

"Have you heard anything from Jak?"

A sudden dread grasped around her heart, only intensified by her recent trip down memory lane. "What do you mean?"

"Last time we saw him he was going in the remains of the Nest here in Haven. That was after he helped us get rid of those… Dark Makers? Tall, dark and extremely nasty. He said he'd let us know if he needed help, but we haven't gotten word yet," If communicators had had the ability to look worried, this one would have looked sorrier than ever. Right now the rigid silver cast was a poor indicator of how Torn felt about not knowing if one of his best friends needed help.

"He hasn't let us know anything yet," Valentine said, the exact same moment she entered her little office room. On the desk an alarm was blinking, signaling one of the citizens was in dire need of help. The number corresponding with the signal badge blared in bright digits. And it happened to be a number she knew by heart. It was her badge.

Alarmed she started to pat on her pockets before realizing she'd given it to Jak before he'd left Spargus the day before yesterday. "Speak of the devil, he's calling us for help. Torn, can you send him back-up?"

"Me and what men? The only thing standing here are your darned Pink Bots," Torn sounded surlier than ever.

"Then I'll go!" Even though she'd promised she'd stay and help out with rebuilding the city. But if Jak failed there wouldn't be a city left to defend. "Seem, tell dad I'm sorry for running off again."

"Where are you going?" Seem demanded to know.

Valentine grabbed a small handgun from the desk, along with two knives. She was nowhere near the shot that Jak was and still preferred hand to hand if she had the option. Not to mention she'd rather not be the cause of friendly fire. "I'm taking those blasted cars from the temple to get to Haven. They're fast enough, aren't they?"

"You can't drive a car!" Seem made the very valid point.

"Well, either I learn quickly or I smash into a wall. If I don't help Jak I might as well make an end to it quickly."

"You are not driving a car," This latest announcement came from the door, where Damas stood, glaring at both of the women. He was leaning on his staff, looking every bit the wartime king he was, proud and secure of his words.

Valentine couldn't believe her ears. "But my king, I've told you before that -"

Damas held up his hand, effectively shushing Valentine before she once again explained everything she knew to him. With a weary grin he motioned her to follow him. "I said you are not driving a car because you would never get to Haven in time. You need a driver."

"But-"

"I know my way around a buggy, my dear. And I've decided you wouldn't lie to me, even if you could gain something from it," Damas continued, making his way to the garage.

Valentine could almost feel her mouth dropping to the ground at those words. "Are you… I mean, we're… together?"

With a satisfied smirk Damas glanced over his shoulder, clearly satisfied over how he had robbed the princess of her words. "It is about time I show you youngsters how a true warrior fights his battles. You've been overdue for a practice with me either way."

"I… that's great! But, just to be clear on one thing?" Valentine thought to ask just in case. You could never be sure when going on a field trip with a parental figure.

"What?"

"Does this mean I don't have a curfew today?"


	51. Do Not Go Gently

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So for the South Park fans that read this and don't do it to punish themselves in a weird sado-masochistic expression of selfloathing, I recently started writing a Kenny fanfic. It's going to be more about the whole Cthulhu cult storyline, some romance, likely crossdressing at at least one point in the story. I'm really excited about it, and it'll probably be better written than this fic, considering I've been building up loads more of experience. Anyway, check it out when you have the time.

|Leaving Spargus|

There had been times when Valentine felt Jak took too many risks when driving. The man lived for the feeling of just narrowly skidding past a cliff or nearly diving headfirst into a Marauder car. And maybe things were different behind a steering wheel, maybe if you were the one driving, it was actually fun doing all that stupid stuff.  
Not once would she have expected Damas to be an even more dangerous driver than Jak. And yet they had made it back to the now deserted temple in record time, leaving her slightly green around the nose. Once this was over she would refuse to lay eyes on a car for months to come.

On wobbly legs they'd made their way down to the Catacombs, not accompanied by Meta who had stayed behind in Haven. There was no way the Metal Head would have been able to fit in one of the strange cars with them and by the time the animal had reached Haven things would have been over, for better or worse. Damas hadn't exactly been talkative which suited Valentine just fine. Through the Catacombs she preferred having a driver who was paying attention to the road.

"You and Jak… huh?" her King finally asked out loud as they made their way at a hurried pace through the old Eco mines. A few minutes ago she'd contacted Torn who had promised them a ride so they could help Jak.

She at once felt hot to the tip of her ears. "Wh-what do you mean?"

Damas raised his eyebrows at her in a way that universally was used to show they knew and the other party should just fess up everything. "Do you really want me to say it out loud?"

"Well…"

"Valentine, do you?"

She could feel the pressure rising like steam inside of her. Putting the age stuff aside - there was still the mental agony that in some weird weird way she was twelve years his senior - she was dating Damas' son. At least he hadn't seen the hickeys because then she might have just died from embarrassment. "Me and Jak."

Damas chuckled as they got in the elevator. "Good girl."

Valentine side-eyed him nervously. "Sir… about the other thing… do you have any thoughts about that?"

The silence that followed felt as if it could grow claws any second and rip a hole in between them. She shouldn't have asked him that, she knew, she knew that that was stupid. But she had to know because she wanted to tell Jak. Jak had a right to know. But she didn't want him to know only to be rejected by his father.  
The silence endured ever longer until Valentine thought that maybe Damas hadn't heard her. Or he'd forgotten by now she'd asked the question. Maybe this was some kind of torture, see how long he could make her suffer before she cracked and told him everything she ever did wrong, starting from age six when she'd stolen a cookie from the cookie jar.

By the time she mentally was up to sins at age eighteen her King finally spoke, nearly sending her into a cardiac arrest. "I trust that you would not willingly deceive me."

"Oh…" Well, that was nice, she guessed. It wasn't 'oh dear Precursors this fixes everything' nice, but at least he didn't think she was a raving lunatic. Things could be worse, she thought as they climbed in the car Torn had gotten ready for them. When Valentine questioned how Torn would have gotten a buggy in town Damas showed a rather grim smile.

"I had it delivered here some months ago, in case I were to show lenience to the city," he explained in a low voice, his eyes avoiding the deterioration of the now crumbling city. Valentine nodded when his eyes flashed her way to show she understood, wondering if she should mention to Damas how the city looked near the central HQ. On the one hand it might make him feel marginally better but it might also just remind him he was a dethroned king in Haven.

"I'm sorry for making things so complicated all the time," she mumbled, averting her eyes as soon as Damas looked at her. Nobody liked apologizing and she always felt like a twit when doing it. 'Sorry' was such an annoying word because it didn't even come close to describing how wretched she was actually feeling. "I would have liked it if things could be more straightforward."

The car bounced when Damas drove it over a pile of rubble he could have easily avoided, which meant he had done it just so that she'd be forced to look at him. Having gotten her attention he placed a hand on her knee with a fatherly smile. "I know you like things to be straightforward. But life, Valentine, never is. Which is why people like us will always find ourselves to be at sorts with the natural order of things."

"People like us?" Valentine asked with a smile. Though they got along quite well, in between outbursts of almost teenage rebellion and exasperated fatherhood, few people would have said the two of them were exactly alike.

"Straightforward people. Which makes us quite competent at navigating life. Somebody needs to keep it simple for their surroundings." Damas clarified himself with an almost boyish smile. He seemed to be somewhat relieved at having a chance to have a chat with her in private, even if it had to happen in the ruins of the city he had once ruled. The buggy screeched over an unlucky Metal Scorpion as Damas shifted gears.

"I do hope that smile means you are agreeing with me and not that you are pitying the old rambling fool who is driving the car."

Valentine had to laugh out loud when she heard that comment. Strange how much better a simple talk with Damas could make her feel. Though he was not the same as her biological father, she didn't mind him filling the role. "I'm smiling because I'm happy, that's all."

"Hmmm," Damas ruffled her hair with a smile before returning his full attention to the road, which by now was more hole than actual pavement. The beeping which came from his tracker showed that they were closing in on her beacon, further inside Metal territory than she'd have thought Jak would be.

"This seems like a bit of a detour," Damas commented as he eyed the road Jak had obviously been following, judging the bodies of several Metal heads he had left in his wake. Valentine did not like the tone of Damas' voice as he continued.

"Of course he's just a boy for taking the longer route. We can catch up to him if we go this road."

The 'road' he had referred to was nothing but a pile of rubble with an occasional bigger piece of debris to hinder their way. "I'm not so sure that's a good idea."

Then again, why would anyone listen to her when discussing a route to follow? It wasn't like she lacked a death wish or anything. Per usual the person in the driver's seat ignored her helpful suggestions, leaving her to hold on for dear life while her teeth rattled in the rocky conditions.

"One of th-th-these d-d-d-days you're all go-gonna listen t-t-t-to me!" she shouted above the noise the car made before she bit her tongue. "Shit!"

"Language, young lady," Damas reminded her, before stopping in front of a seemingly massive wall. The bleeping of the radar had grown increasingly louder, showing that they were closer to Jak than before. In fact, judging from the intensity, the only thing between them was this wall.

Valentine knew that look. Jak got the same look in his eyes when he was about to do something heroic and possibly life-threatening. "Uhm… sir? Dad? Father dearest? Could we perhaps take a way around? I'm sure that-"

The rest of her sentence was lost to the roar of the engine as Damas stepped on the gas, the laws of nature dictating she should be plastered against her seat due to the sudden increase in speed. Narrowly avoiding biting her tongue a second time she closed her eyes, praying he indeed knew what he was doing. Once this was over she would make serious work out of those driving lessons. Anything to avoid riding shotgun in the future.

She felt more than heard how the seemingly massive wall crackled on impact and realized it had in fact been debris that had just managed to fall in a stable position for as long as nothing, like a speeding car, disturbed it. With a crash it tumbled down behind them while they hit something massive in front of them.

Opening her eyes she saw the last of the satellites the Dark Makers had sent out, plastered against the front of the buggy like some strange welcome sign. It screeched as they hit the ground, the satellite stopping it's movements in lagging gestures. Sounding as if nothing had happened Damas turned to the other side of the car. "You called for an army."

"Well, you're a long way from the desert. I thought you said a warrior never takes his opponent head on," Jak replied, leading her to emit a heavy sigh of relief. He was still alive, still safe. That fact alone was worth their earlier stunt.

"Well, that depends on how hard your skull is," Damas said with in a rare show of humor.

"You're all macho idiots," Valentine mumbled, leaning her head back in relief. The car slanted heavily, making her very unwilling to actually open her eyes.

"But we're your macho idiots, toots," Daxter shouted back at her. The sound of padded feet sounded on the hood of the car, leading her to look anyway. The Ottsel was walking towards her with a happy grin on his face as Jak moved to sit in next to her. It caused some need for rearrangements but eventually the four of them were neatly arranged.

On their way towards the catacombs there were fewer enemies than expected, as if most creatures were quite happy to steer clear from the place. Valentine yelped at one particular bump, nearly hitting her head against Jak's. "I hate this road."

"It's not that bad," Both Jak and Damas said at the same time, much to their surprise. In wonder both men shared a look, before Damas curled one corner of his mouth up in a strange half-smile.

"Perhaps it's not completely out of the realm of possibility."

Jak blinked, not knowing what had prompted the strange utterance before he ventured a response. "Well, I have been learning from the best. And from Valentine."

This earned him a jab in the side from said sweetheart, though quite good-natured. "Watch it, or I'll kick you out of the car."

"Seeing as how we have arrived that won't be necessary," Damas observed, stopping the car for a moment. In front of them loomed the entrance to the Catacombs, every bit as eerie at it should have been. Valentine and Daxter swallowed at the same time, not happy with what they were seeing.

A few moments passed, slow and solemn as they considered the road ahead. The wind howled around the scene, sending goosebumps up their skin. Compared to the desert heat this place was almost freezing, the impression aided as most of the landscape was covered in white dust.

"Do any of you guys hear that?" Daxter asked, his ears twitching in response to whatever he was picking up. Valentine shook her head, only hearing the way the wind seemed to pick up in intensity.

"Out of the car, now!" Jak ordered, grabbing Valentine by the arm. Panicked by the sudden order she looked behind her, in the same direction he was. A fireball hurled towards them, the source of the sound she had attributed to the wind. Before they could move away it was upon them, throwing the car upside down. Jak's grip around her arm disappeared.

In the movement Valentine was thrown against Damas, the man folding his arms around her as if he wanted to protect her. Like rag dolls their limbs were tossed back and fro, metal dangerously creaking around them. Valentine thought she felt something strange tingle inside her stomach but she couldn't be sure. The world had been transformed in a dizzying place.  
As the car stopped they bounced in place. Valentine was lying on top of something warm and massive. Dazed she blinked, just catching sight of a white, shimmering shield as it faded away along with the tingle in her stomach. Panicked she tried to hold on to the feeling. In response the shield strengthened, just in time because the car threatened to tumble down on top of her.

"Jak?" she cried out in panic. Damas was the one who was lying underneath her, blood seeping from a cut at the side of his head. She had to remind herself to breathe. Cuts to the head always bled a lot, that didn't have to mean anything. Fingers trembling she placed a hand to Damas' chest, unable to feel a heartbeat when her own was beating so fast. "JAK?"

"Val, I'm here," Jak said, showing up from the sides. Wisps of white energy flowed around him, closing up a long gash that ran along his side in a long rip of his shirt. "Are you hurt?"

"No," she said, her fingers still grasping the front of Damas' shirt. Her head was pounding as the tingle in her stomach threatened to fade. "Help me!"

Jak nodded as he reached through the shield with ease, grabbing Damas' by the shoulders. Valentine moved along, unwilling to let go of the man as they moved. They were nearly clear of the car when she lost the grip on the Eco inside of her, unused as she was to actually being able to use Light Eco. With a thud the car slammed down, missing her feet by inches. Damas wasn't so lucky.

Jak's movement stopped as Damas' leg was trapped underneath the remains of the buggy. The lack of an outcry was proof enough that Damas was unconscious. Valentine dropped on her knees once more, pressing her legs against Damas. 'Dear Precursors, let him be unconscious. Let that be it and not something else. Please, oh please,' Valentine thought as a first sob broke loose from her. Of all the people in her world Damas was the one who could weather anything. His was too great a life to be ended in a place like this.

At the same moment thunder sounded above them, heralding the first drops of rain. Valentine paid them no heed, long litanies of prayer dropping from her lips. She'd thought she would never pray again after Praxis' dungeons. Now the unused words cascaded from her, slowly going towards a wail. Damas wasn't moving, but he couldn't be dead. Valentine wouldn't allow it because she needed him. She wasn't ready to let him go. She flinched when Jak touched her shoulder but let him grab her to mumble shushing words against her, felt his lips graze her hair as he promised her it would be alright.

"Don't cry, Val. Please don't cry."

"Can't… won't…" Jak should have been the one crying. Damas was his father and Jak didn't know because she had wanted to fix things. How could he ever forgive her if she told him now? All she had wanted was for father and son to be able to recognize each other. And now Damas was lying there, still and cooling down in the middle of a ruined city. "Sorry… so sorry…" That hated word again, still not enough to bare that raw emotion just above her heart. This wasn't happening, not really. It had to be a nightmare.

"How touching. So the old king died without knowing he had his son at his side all this time," A new voice was enough to jolt her out of crying for a little while. Jak let go of her with a swear, reaching for his gun.

"No no, I wouldn't do that if I were you. Wouldn't want my finger to slip."

Through her tears she saw the lanky figure of Veger, standing in the rain as if he hadn't a care in the world as he pointed a gun straight at her. "You don't have the right." Valentine spat out, tears threatening to choke her.

"Please, I have every right. I'm the master puppeteer of this little play," Veger laughed as he spoke, gleeful he could finally tell someone his master plan. "I took little Mar from Damas because I needed someone for my Eco experiments. It all went great until I lost the kid to the Underground. Oh, what's wrong? You look upset, freak. Did I tell you too late?"

"Liar!" Jak growled, dark sparks flying from his hands around him. Yet he glanced at Damas, some inkling of possibility dawning on him. _'Perhaps it is not completely out of the realm of possibility.'_

"You were the son of the great warrior King Damas, descendant of the great Mar. And the freak you've kept beside you is the last descendant of the Guardians, so at least you had that birthright granted to you all this time. And he never knew how it all fit. Isn't that funny?"

Valentine felt the rage grow inside her as well, fueled by her pain about Damas. Veger dared to laugh about this matter? She moved to raise herself up and stand beside Jak but was stopped. A warm hand had closed around her wrist, keeping her close to the ground. All thoughts about Veger were forgotten.

"VEGER!" Jak shouted. Quicker than light Valentine grabbed Jak by the arm with her free hand, stopping him before he could pounce on the count. Jak's blue eyes had swam over with Dark Eco, snarling at her to be set free. From the corner of her eyes she saw Veger leave in a hurry, towards the catacombs.

"He's alive!" Valentine said, hoping she was getting through to Jak. "Damas is okay!"


	52. By The Gods

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> To be honest, I HATE this chapter but I have no idea how the fix it. The pacing in the game is just so weird, because it kind of just dumps you on the Dark Maker ship while the characters have just gotten the weirdest reveal in their entire lives.

|Haven|

"He's alive, Jak. Damas is okay," Valentine repeated. She didn't dare look away as the hero was morphing in between his normal and dark self. Instead she kept her eyes focused on his, controlling her breathing. Damas' warm hand on her wrist kept her grounded with courage and hope. Her free hand moved up Jak's bare arm, along the blond hair and pulsating veins beneath her touch.

"Veger!" Jak shouted, turning around.

"…Mar," Damas spoke, his voice a feeble whisper just barely reaching above the drizzling rain. Next to him Daxter sat on the ground, observing the scene.  
Jak paused once more. His chest moved in quick breaths as he struggled to keep control over his actions. His fingers flexed rhythmically as he stared at the Catacombs. "Veger is getting away."

"We'll get him. First we need to calm down and make sure Damas is alright," Valentine pleaded with him. As long as she held onto his hand he wouldn't be going Dark on them. That's what she told herself at least.

Jak took a few shuddering breaths, his hand twisting so he could grasp Valentine's wrist in turn. Rain gathered in droplets on his face before dripping lazily from his goatee. His breathing quickened, the Eco testing his restraints. His grip around her wrist tightened, bordering on almost too painful. Then he startled, releasing her. "Sorry."

Valentine shook her head quickly before turning back to her King. Damas' breathing was even, the steady movement of his chest much stronger than it had been only a minute earlier. "My King, are you alright?"

"I will be when I get back to Spargus," Damas moaned lowly, flinching when Valentine touched his leg. There was a very good chance it was broken but she was loath to examine it here. The conditions were less than optimal. Damas turned to Jak, motioning the young man to come closer.

Jak shrugged off the rest of the rage with difficulty, resting one knee on the ground next to Damas. The rain drizzled gently on the scene. Valentine knew she should probably give the two some privacy but she didn't want to miss out on the development. Instead she looked around after something she could use to splint Damas' leg.

"So Valentine was right. You are my son." Well, maybe sticking around wasn't the smartest idea after all. Sadly enough both men had now involved her in the situation. With the tips of her ears feeling hot under their scrutiny she tested a thin piece of metal for it's resistance.

"He knew?" Jak asked her, sounding upset.

Valentine bit her tongue in an attempt to avert the sudden nervous feeling. "He knew. I just wanted to make sure Damas would believe us."

"Time travel… it's a hard thing for an old man to swallow," Damas noted, his hand moving for a moment as if he wanted to touch Jak. "Though there were clues, I suppose. You are a man any warrior would proudly call son."

Jak hesitated, eyes flickering between Damas, Valentine and the ground. "This is sudden. Not that I'm angry, I mean, you're impressive. I just thought my family was dead."

Now Valentine felt the knot of guilt along with the heat of shame. Perhaps there had been better ways to handle this. Instead she straightened out the piece of metal in her hands, careful not to snap it in two. Daxter observed her, keeping his mouth shut for the time being. After ripping a strip of fabric from her shirt she applied the splint to the best of her abilities. "That's all I can do for now. We should get you to Seem."

Damas shook his head. "The two of you put a stop to Veger. You were right, Valentine. Spargus cannot survive on its own."

"But-"

"If you contact Torn he will send someone to me. I can manage until they do so." Her king seemed sure of himself.

"Still-"

"A true leader puts the people above their own desires. You stopped being a Guardian quite some time ago. Now you have to act like a leader," Damas urged her. He glanced to Jak, finally reaching out to take his son's hand. Valentine's heart squeezed painfully in her chest when she saw that.

"Not to mention, I want both of you to look after each other. I need the both of you to return to me, in one piece."

Valentine quickly wiped her eyes, hoping the men would attribute any tears they noticed to the rain. While she alerted Torn about what had happened through the still working radio in the car Jak and Damas talked in hushed whispers. She was happy things had worked out as well as they did. Hell, things probably had gone as good as she could ever have hoped. At least Damas hadn't died. A part of her would have died right along with the man.

"Torn's on his way. Will you be alright?" She asked Damas, glancing in the direction Veger had sped off to. They had lost some valuable time but hopefully not too much.

Damas coughed as he sat up straight, looking every bit the insulted warrior king. His pained smile was an ineffective attempt at putting everyone at ease. "I have been taking care of myself years before the two of you were born. I think I'll manage here."

"We'll make Veger pay," Jak promised.

"That's right, we'll make that sorry excuse of a Count sorry he ever messed with the golden trio!" Daxter shouted, hurrying up towards Jak's shoulder.

Valentine glanced at her companions before shrugging. "Guess that means we're off. Could you try messaging us when you're safe?"

"I will. Now go! You have some serious saving to do!" Damas urged them.

Valentine saluted quickly before following Jak to the remaining Precursor vehicle. Her heart sank upon seeing it before she shook her head. No complaining this time! If her king was brave enough to remain behind in enemy territory then she could stand driving shotgun in this car.

They'd only just gotten underway when Jak asked the dreaded question. "When were you planning on telling me?"

"When I was certain Damas believed me!" Valentine had to shout in order to be heard. The car sped through the darkness, their road leading down. Sometimes they passed the remnants of what had been lighting, other times they only narrowly avoided dying thanks to Jak's fast reflexes. Veger must have been more capable than he looked for making it this far. They had yet to see any smoking wreckage from his vehicle.

"We both know time travel is possible, thanks to you being here. But try telling that to someone who doesn't have our evidence!"  
She nearly bit her tongue in an unexpected turn, Daxter screaming loudly all the while. "Besides, you only told me you were Mar after so long for the same reason!"

"I know but-" Jak paused while swerving the vehicle to the left when they came across an unexpected sharp turn. Gravity tugged at the both of them, pushing them flat in their seats. All the while they went lower and lower. A chill pervaded the air.

"He almost died back there, and I would have known nothing!"

"I screwed up, okay!" She hadn't really expected Doomsday to arrive quite so quickly. In movies people were polite enough to give a warning plenty beforehand.  
She could understand Jak being angry with her. She had felt pretty conflicted as well when he'd first told her the truth. "Try not to hate me for too long? I'd hate to die with you being angry at me!"

Jak glanced at her, his face directed back at the road at once by a concerned Daxter. "We're not going to die. We're the heroes, remember?"

"Guys, does the whole hero thing count when the road stops?" Daxter asked while his voice rose higher and higher.

Valentine directed her eyes in front of her only to see that the road indeed disappeared in front of them. Jak slammed down on the breaks but it was too late. At a sickening pace they hurled towards the darkness. And kept floating on.

With her heart pounding in her throat Valentine turned left and right. The only indication they were moving was a growing spot of light in front of them. She turned to Jak who shrugged. He didn't seem nearly panicked enough considering they had just had a near-death experience.

Something zoomed past their head, a dim, round shape. Several others moved past them, whipping up a breeze in their path. The increased light soon revealed they were inside something that looked like a huge planetarium or possibly a machine. In front of them a red-eyed Precursor statue loomed.  
"That must be it," Valentine whispered.

Jak nodded, staring at the monolith statue with as much intent as she was. When they landed the hero looked around him. "That's the statue… where's Veger?"

"Greetings, great warriors. Before it is too late you must power up the planet's core defense system," The statue directed them in the usual, strangely reverberating voice.

Valentine raised an eyebrow at Jak who pulled a small egg-like thing out of his pocket. "Samos had me pick this up while we were separated. Might as well use it to make sure everything starts working."

As soon as Jak inserted the power core a blue figure appeared in front of them. Valentine leaned back on one foot, prepared to dodge should it attack. Jak seemed less concerned about the appearance, gesturing behind him to calm her down.

"You have proven your worth, great Warriors. We grant you the gift of evolution. The honor of becoming one of us."

Jak and Valentine exchanged a glance. This looked to be a pretty big deal. Daxter bounced up and down on Jak's shoulder in excitement. "What are we waiting for? Let's get this show on the road! Being a Precursor has to be better than being like I am now!"

"Step aside! I will be the one to evolve into a Precursor! The honor should belong to me!" Veger appeared almost out of nowhere, his big strides carrying him more than halfway to the light before his sentence had ended. More troubling was the pistol he had trained upon his foes.

"Be careful what you wish for…" The Precursor chanted ominously, an undertone of glee barely audible.

The gentle light enveloped Veger in what Valentine thought was oddly like when she and Jak had received the Light Ego. She glanced at the Precursor, not believing they'd just granted Veger of all people the honor of becoming like them. Were these guys out of their mind?

Veger glowed brightly, forcing his audience to shield their eyes. When it was safe to look again he looked just the same as ever, arrogant smirk and all. "Don't worry children, I'm assuming this role for the greater good."

"Even now it may be too late. If Erol awakens the cargo of the Dark ship all will be lost," The glowing Precursor piped up.

Daxter jumped down, having had enough of it. He went as far as ignoring the gun Veger was pointing at the group once more. "I've had it with you guys! We've been doing all of your dirty work like running around in the desert,-"

"Sewers," Valentine added helpfully.

"Giant robots," Jak noted.

"-and worse," Daxter concluded for them. "So why don't you go and fight the big baddies for once while we kick back with a margarita?"

For a moment the glowing figure paused in the air, putting its hands on its hips. It stared at a vacant spot in the air.  
"I told you this was a horrible plan. We never should have mixed plan A and plan B. It doesn't suddenly make a plan C." The Precursor babbled against itself before getting knocked around in the air.

"I think we broke the Precursor. Seem is going to kill us," Valentine blurted when she saw it, wondering what the monks would do if she ever mentioned it. Her train of thought was rudely interrupted when the glowing figure disappeared, revealing two doors sliding open behind it. Maybe she was dreaming. There was a chance she'd actually gotten a concussion earlier. Right now she was probably laying in the mud and rain underneath a car because there was no way this was happening.

"Oh my god," Jak said, sounding every bit as unbelieving as she was. Veger dropped his staff on the ground with an audible thunk. For a moment everybody just… stared. There was no mistaking the orange fur, not after having seen Daxter for several years. Three Ottsels were pushing buttons and handling levers, looking at their audience rather panicked.

"Yes… well… now we're even more displeased. Close the doors now. Avert your eyes," the Ottsel in the middle commanded the others.

Valentine knelt to the ground, adding her palm as contact between her and the doors in front of them. She stopped the flow of Eco that would have hidden the Ottsels from view. "You have got to be kidding me."

"Oh bother," the obvious leader threw away his microphone, the other two stopping their work to face their believers.

Daxter trotted closer to them, glancing between his friends and the Precursors. "I'm not suffering from a hangover residue am I? They look like me, right?"

Daxter and Valentine nodded in sync while Veger shook his head slowly. Valentine thought her brain might overload from this sudden information. This had to be an elaborate joke.

"We actually get this a lot, y'know?" One of the other Ottsels said as they floated closer on small platforms. He didn't look concerned about the situation at all, unlike the older Ottsel in the middle.

"Don't look so upset. Would you worship us if you knew the Precursors were a bunch of fuzzy rats?" The leader added, doing his utmost to seem cordial. He made a fair point. Nobody would have pegged someone who looked like Daxter to be godly material.  
What would Seem say about this? How would anyone on the planet react? The creators of the world were orange fuzzballs. Valentine decided to sit on the ground, her knees suddenly too weak to support her weight. They had to be joking. She started to rub her temples in little circles.

"You idiots!" Well, at least it looked like Veger finally agreed with them on something. Disbelief caused the man to point his gun straight at the Ottsels. "Stop defiling this holy place!"

In the blink of an eye Veger was suspended in the air. The Ottsel-cursors looked quite smug with that feat. "Don't let our size fool you. We are some of the most powerful beings you'll ever encounter."

Valentine glanced at Daxter, curious to know if he knew to do that. It would have saved them a few tight situations in the past. But first- "Wait a second. You were going to turn us into you? We were going to be Ottsels? Because I do not have the hips for a tail."

Her question was answered when Veger popped - there was no other word for that sound - and became shorter and indefinitely more fluffy. Curiously enough his cuddle factor didn't increase along with it. While the count screamed she shook her head. "If we save the world, I don't want the reward to be Precursorhood, okay?"

"If you are going to save the world, you have to stop Erol from waking the Dark Makers," The Ottsel leader told them, gesturing vaguely up to indicate what he was talking about.

"You can't just announce the Precursors are Ottsels and then send us on our way!" Valentine protested, placing her hands on her knees. What the hell were they thinking anyway? "I don't care if you're the most powerful creatures on the planet, why do we have to go up there and deal with the Dark Makers? The only one I'm interested in is Erol."

"Normally we would love to take our time to explain everything to you, but right now you have to make sure not more Dark Makers try to take over the planet. They will do anything to corrupt it," The Ottsel leader told them in a very even tone of voice.

"And Erol's on the ship right now, waking more of 'em up as we're speaking. Gotta go with the vibes, lil' lady,"

"We already fought Dark Makers. They're tough, but we can handle them," Jak said, placing a hand on his hip. The way he kept glancing around suggested he hoped something more impressive would show up to claim the title of god.

"No dude, what you saw were the foot soldiers. The really big, nasty ones are still sleeping. So if you don't want this world to become a cosmic pile of goo you should head straight to the ship and stop him," One of the Ottsels explained to them, using exaggerated hand gestures to stress his point.

Valentine glanced at the charging weapon in the middle of the room. "Wait a second, isn't the gun going to blow them up? Why do we have to there if the ship's going to be destroyed in a few minutes?"

"If even one of those things awakens the planet will be-"

"Wokka wokka wokka!" The third Ottsel impersonated a popular yellow video game character with a preference for cherries.

"For real, if you let Erol do what he wants," the second Ottsel assured them.

"Well this is just great. Who doesn't want to go up to an alien ship that can be blown up any second? I say we make it a pic-nic and HOW ABOUT NO?" Daxter shouted.

Jak looked up, even though the sky couldn't possibly be seen from this place. "We've come this far. We might as well see it through to the end."

"But I don't want the end to be like, our end," Valentine objected. "We promised Damas we'd be back in one piece. This sounds more like we'll end up being a puzzle box by the time we get back."

"I just found out I'm a Precursor. You can't expect me to just die after this revelation. I need to tell Tess she's dating a god. And where did you guys get those pants?"

Jak waved a hand towards the weapon. "We're the heroes of this story! Together we can take down a ship of Dark Makers. Me and Daxter saved this world countless of times, and now there's you too, Val. We got this!"

Valentine looked between her lover and the Precursors, nearly stepping on Daxter's tail in the process. Veger hung in the air, not in the mood to talk. This was a horrible idea. Number one on the list of ways to get killed. A trip in the sewers would be more fun. But one look at Jak and she felt her stomach twist. "Count me in."

"Val, no! We're the voice of reason in this thing!" Daxter argued.

"But Jak's right. If we don't do it, who will? And judging from how things have been they'll zap us up there whether we like it or not," She added the last part with a fell swoop of her arm towards the Ottsels who nodded more or less sagely. "I vote team Hero."

Jak nodded. "That's two of us. Dax?"

Daxter groaned, putting his hands in front of his face. When he finished lamenting his fate he ran over to Valentine, deciding she was still the safer option when it came to a shoulder to lean on. "Fine, but we need a different team title. How about 'Team Orange Lightning'? That has a nice ring to it."

Jak nodded towards the Ottsels who snapped their fingers. Something in the air shifted, air condensed to press their limbs together. For a moment none of them could breathe. When Valentine opened her eyes again everything was pitch black. Not to far from them high-pitched screeches and gutteral warbling could be heard.

Could someone say Really Bad Idea?


	53. Zero Space

|Dark Maker Ship|

They waited for a few seconds, frozen in place, until their eyes had adjusted to the dark. The trio had their backs pressed against a cold, metal wall, breathing shallowly. Valentine swallowed, hoping they weren't in the middle of a room, spotlights trained to turn on the moment they so much as moved a toe. The screeching and warbling continued, sounding far off. Who knew how far away though? There was no telling how this place was built.

"Are we going to keep sitting here?" Daxter half whispered and half shouted at his friends. Valentine nearly jumped out of her skin when she heard his voice, shattering the silence without warning.

In the dark, Jak placed a hand on Daxter's mouth, shutting off all sound. In a low voice he mumbled a warning, his other hand grabbing Valentine's.

She didn't know if Jak could see it already, but she nodded in his direction just the same. The air was damp and tasted metallic. Still, things weren't completely dark in here. A lone spark of Dark Eco pulsed along cables stretched above them, trailing up to a huge ceiling. The light revealed they were surrounded by boxes, dark and ominous, looming over them. Taking deep breaths, Valentine tried to sense where it was going. Doing this she discovered that the room they were currently in was huge, not to mention using large amounts of Dark Eco.

"Val?"

"I'm trying to find out where we are…" she whispered back, trying not to sound too panicked. The day had gotten her pretty worn out, and finding her way through the maze of rooms by using Dark Eco was taxing enough as it was. Relieved she noted they weren't too far away from what was either the main energy room or the control room. They were surrounded by different areas, as vast in space as the one they were currently hiding in.

"This place is weird though. Huge."

Muffled sounds indicated Daxter tried to say something, still clamped off by Jak's hand. Valentine shook her head at the Ottsel still the same, pressing a finger to her lips. Finally Jak let go of his friend, after warning the Ottsel to be as quiet as possible. "Did you guys forget we're on a time schedule here? That gun can go off any second, and I don't wanna be here when it does."

Ah, the wonderful time restrictions life had imposed on them. Or at least the deities, though Valentine was highly uncomfortable recognizing the furballs as a higher power. Jak nodded at her, indicating he was ready to go. Valentine took a deep breath through her nose, not keen on the taste of the air here. Slowly they rose from their crouching positions, and Valentine indicated there was a door they could use to the right. All they needed to do was cross a few meters of open space, past the crates they'd been hiding among.

Before they'd taken two steps something shuffled in front of them. They froze, looking at each other in the near dark. Shooting was obviously a bad idea, considering they were in enemy territory. But just sneaking past wouldn't be easy either.  
Jak reached out to something on top of the boxes and showed her. The dark purple sheen of Eco above them caught the luster of a rope, only it wasn't made of anything she'd ever seen before. Looking above them she noted it was probably the same material as the cables that transported Eco across the ship.  
When Jak mimicked strangling someone with the rope, Valentine nodded. She bent over, retrieving one of the knives she had standard in her boots. Listening intently they rounded the corner, after peeking to make sure they weren't about to be surprised.

One of the Dark Makers was standing at a control board, occasionally humming eerily to itself as buttons were pressed and meters tapped. It looked up at the ceiling in regular intervals, though Valentine was a little too preoccupied to check what it was observing.

She shuffled to the left while Jak did the same in the opposite direction. By now her heart was beating so fast, she imagined the creature would hear her coming just by that sound. They had one chance, and they'd better make it count if they didn't want to fight off an entire ship. A drop of sweat formed at her temple, tickling as it slid down. Valentine focused on that feeling, trying to keep calm.

When the Maker glanced up again, Valentine made a slight mental stir. Hardly much, about the same as when she wanted Meta's attention. It could even be mistaken as friendly. In response the Maker croaked and turned towards her. Valentine lunged forward with the blade, towards the neck. The surprise attack had served its purpose, as the knife dug deep in the creatures throat. Not enough to kill it, but enough to sever the vocal cords.

The dark cable swooped, cleaving the air in two, looping around the creature's exposed neck. Jak caught the end and yanked back. The Maker gurgled, clawing at the cable in an attempt to peel it away. Valentine wasted no time and hurried to Jak, helping him to pull it taut, digging her heels in the floor. The room was filled with choking, gurgling noises, while the two of them breathed heavily.

When the Maker stopped struggling, they held the cable in place for a while longer. Convinced it was over they let go of the cable. The body slumped to the ground, in the pool of infected blood that had spread around them. They exhaled, realizing for the first time they'd been holding their breath. As Valentine knelt to retrieve her weapon she heard Jak gasp. "Val… you really gotta see this."

"Well, fuck me and call me an ocelot," Daxter added in his usual eloquence.

Her knife retrieved with a sickening crunch, Valentine looked up to see what the fuss was about. First her brain failed to register what it was seeing, and then she found herself vehemently denying the truth. High above them, hidden in a strange cluster, was a dark mass. Occasionally Dark Eco sparks would light up the contours, dark shadows playing, hiding the true creature. Valentine's jaw dropped open, her brain resorting to trying to calculate the size of the thing above them.

"… factoring the room… and the length of those cables…" She mumbled, stringing random numbers together in an attempt to find a satisfactory answer. She'd seen Ma'al in his true form and been impressed. But this… not even Ma'al would stand a chance against this thing. This could easily destroy Spargus, probably hardly noting the city was in the way.

"I don't wanna know," Daxter groaned when he heard her calculating.

"This must be what Erol is trying to wake up. These must be the older Dark Makers," Jak added, flexing his hands as if preparing for a fight.

"Then let's be happy this ship is going to be blown up. And us with it if we don't get a move on. Let's go," Valentine said, though she couldn't help but gawk at the shape looming over them just the same. Erol thought waking this thing up was a good idea? She knew he was crazier than Praxis had ever been, but this was taking it to entire new levels. Clearly he'd never tuned in at the sci-fi channel back in Haven. Nine out of ten movies showed that waking up anything you found in space was a horrible idea.  
They walked away slowly, glancing back every few steps just in case it might wake up. Things like these always woke up just when everything seems to be safe. For a few seconds she considered tampering with the Dark Eco lines connected to the Maker, but decided against it. For all she knew, that would be the thing to set it off. They moved through the door, finding themselves in a long corridor. In here there were no sounds, known or unknown. Just… silence.

"I'm liking this place less and less," Daxter said, swaying on Jak's shoulder as they walked. Both his friends grunted their approval, Jak keeping watch for potential danger while Valentine tried to navigate them through the maze. Finally she pointed at a large gate to their left.

"There. Feels like a massive collection of energy, just behind that door. I'll bet you anything we'll find Erol there."

Jak nodded, quickly running his hand past her arm. When he touched her hand she gave an affectionate squeeze, along with a lopsided smile. "We got this, right guys?"

"You betcha. Ain't nothing stopping us now," Daxter affirmed.

"We got this far. Let's see this through to the end," Jak added, squeezing her hand a bit tighter.

Entering the room was nearly enough to knock the air out of them. It seemed to be in the center of the ship, and little choice they'd had in placing it. Row upon row of huge Dark Makers sat there, though there was something off about them. None of them seemed to be breathing. The pathway they were standing on stretched to a portal, not too far from them. There wasn't that much room to stand on, and it seemed to be a long way down. Something close to them creaked harshly.

"Impressive little robots, aren't they?" A voice behind them asked, followed by a sharp, stinging pain in Valentine's right shoulder. With a grunt both she and Jak fell forward. On instinct she kicked back, but her leg got caught in what felt like a vice grip. She was pulled back, hands skimming across the smooth, metal floor.

When she dangled upside down she had to twist her head in a weird angle to see. "Erol," she spat as venomously as she could, preparing to send a nasty shock through his system. Before she could he tossed her away, sending her flying before bouncing along the floor, rolling out the momentum. For a moment her vision blurred. She shook her head, drowning out the shock residue. She'd heard a gunshot, but judging from the sounds Jak hadn't managed to finish Erol.

Growling she got back up, registering that she wasn't seriously injured. If they survived she'd be every color of the rainbow come morning. Daxter screamed, though moved fluently across Jak's shoulder, nearly dodging a punch that would have knocked him off Jak.

"Daxter, come here!" Valentine shouted. If Daxter was out of the way, that was one thing less for Jak to worry about. The Ottsel obeyed quickly enough, leaving Jak to focus on his arch enemy. Valentine looked around her, desperate for anything she could use as a weapon without getting in the way.

They were saved the trouble by a beam of light blasting through the room. Debris scattered, and the suction of air nearly knocked her off her feet again. Erol used the opportunity to smack Jak to the side. The hero slid across the floor and tumbled over the edge of the pathway. Next to her ear Daxter screamed harshly, while she was reduced to grabbing the smooth floor to avoid following after Jak.

"I'd really love to stay and chat, but I have a planet to destroy. Be sure to die while I'm away," Erol gloated as a hatch in the floor opened. Several of the robots dropped through it, though only the one Erol commandeered actually moved. After that she looked back at the spot where Jak had rolled off the railing. He couldn't really have fallen, right?

Time to think this through ticked away as oxygen was vacuumed out of the room. In the distance an alarm sounded, though the howling of the air made it almost impossible to hear. She kept low, reducing air resistance as she crawled to where they'd seen Jak topple over the edge. Daxter screamed in her ear as they got closer. "What if he's dead?"

"There's no way… he died," Valentine grunted, reaching the edge. Jak wasn't the type to just roll over a bridge and die. The wind gripped at her clothes with greedy fingers, threatening to toss her behind her lover to see what it was like. Daxter held on to her collar and hair for dear life. She called out for Jak, throwing one of her arms over the edge of the small pathway.

A few precious seconds passed, sucked away as greedily as the air was being sucked out of the room. Then cold fingers wrapped around her wrist, squeezing tightly. Relieved she gasped for air and pulled, inching away from the edge, pulling Jak with her. He emerged, pale and disheveled and more important than anything, alive. His hair fluttered in the howling wind as he raised himself up on his knees, and stood up. "We have to get out of here!"

"Gee, ya think? I thought we could throw a party while we're in here!" Daxter shouted back, visibly relieved his best friend was in front of them, relatively unharmed. Valentine pointed to the portal at the other end of the pathway. Jumping through portals without knowing where they took you was a fools task, but staying here would get them killed just the same.

As they slowly moved closer to the portal a large chunk of the ceiling broke off, hurtling in the dark void that surrounded the space ship. Valentine glanced up, seeing myriad stars and veils of untold colors outside before looking in front of her again. Every step they took threatened to lift them up and through that growing hole, tossing them out there in the freezing void of space. When she got her feet back on the ground, she was going to kill those Precursors. When Daxter nearly lost his grip she tucked him securely under her arm. He didn't protest as much as he usually did, preferring to be heavily squeezed over being lost to them.

Behind them familiar screeching and hollering grew in intensity. The other Dark Makers had made their way to this room, no doubt aiming to escape via the portal to safer havens. But the normally short pathway might as well have been spanning the Spargus desert in these conditions. While Valentine and Jak had been able to inch their way across without being in immediate danger, the Dark Makers didn't have the luxury.  
When they reached the portal, Valentine activated it. Before the telltale zooming sound had completed, Jak grabbed her by the elbow and pulled her through. Behind them the ceiling of the room finally caved, the smooth metal floor they had just walked snapped in half as if it hadn't been thicker than a piece of paper. The Dark Makers screeched and grappled for something to hold onto, before the blue of the portal clouded her eyes, transporting the three of them back to more familiar, safer territory.

The journey was completed in less than a minute. Thanks to their haphazard retreat the three of them landed rather ungraciously, though the desert sand was arguably softer than a steel floor. Daxter spat out a mouth of sand, glaring behind him at the portal that had taken a dull black color, telltale sign it had been deactivated. "Why did we even bother going up there if this is how things were gonna turn out?!"

Valentine moved her tongue around, the gritty texture of sand gathering in remnants of saliva. She agreed with Daxter, quickly clearing her mouth as well as she could. "We have to find Erol. He's going to do something stupid, I just know it."

"He's going after Spargus," Jak announced, stumbling up as he adjusted to the feeling of gravity once more working as it should.

"That or Haven," Valentine agreed.

Jak pointed below them, looking very convinced of his case. "No, he's after Spargus."

Valentine followed his gesture, down rolling, rocky hills that spread out beneath them. They had landed on an abandoned mountain, high enough to oversee most of the desert. Spargus gleamed in the distance, the strong walls encasing what had been her home for the past few years. Somewhere halfway between them and Spargus the Dark Maker machine had crash-landed, a deep gash in the sand indicating how poorly Erol had put it on the ground. As they watched he was piloting the legs in position, slowly cranking the machine up to a stance more suitable for death and destruction. "Oh… well, that's a fair assumption."

"There's no way we're going to catch up to him on foot!" Daxter complained, hopping back to Jak's shoulder to get a better look.

Valentine reached out with her mind, searching for Meta or Ma'al. The both of them responded at the same time, flooding her mind with images of repairs ongoing in Spargus. She interrupted, sending a visual of the robot that was getting ready to invade the town. "Ma'al and the Metals are going to provide a distraction, but that doesn't mean he won't appreciate the help."

Jak pointed to the other side of the hill. "I think I found our ride."

Below them there was a small encampment of the Marauders, the entire group gathered to look at what was happening in the distance. They jeered and hooted, clearly not realizing that after Spargus the rest of the planet would follow. Their cars stood near the foot of the hill, parked in a bend that would shelter the cars should a sand storm decide to hit. Valentine nodded, glancing back to the robot that seemed to be their final challenge.

"If you would have told me, back when we met, we'd fight Erol driving a gigantic robot in the middle of a desert, aided by Metal Heads, I would have thought you were insane."

Jak started to jog down the hill, sand sloshing from beneath his feet and billowing up in clouds. Daxter showed a toothy grin, spitting out more sand before he spoke to her. "Toots, look at what we're doing. Sane went out the window a long time ago. As far as I'm concerned, Erol is the only thing between us and a great celebration party, so let's kick some robot ass!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So normally air would be sucked out of a room instantly if a breach happens in space. I took some artistic liberty with physics.


	54. Final Boss

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is the ending of the story. Next chapter will be a few short drabbles about random things that happened to the group later in life.
> 
> Also, I don't know if you guys do Twitter or something, but maybe you all can get me motivated to get into it more? Make me happy and tweet something at ReaderMaru if you have a chance?

|Spargus Desert|

The car creaked and spat dangerously as Jak floored the pedal, dark clouds rising from the exhaust pipes. The Marauders had been very helpful when they found themselves on the wrong side of a gun, leaving them with the best scrap metal to have ever graced the desert. In front of them, the Dark Maker trudged towards Spargus in a steady pace. Valentine held on tight, teeth snapping shut every time they abruptly crossed a dune.

In the distance a beast roared, guttural and threatening. As they rounded a hill, just before gravity once more sucked them down, dark wings rose from Spargus. "That's Ma'al. He's started his attack."  
The Metal King rose barely enough to miss the city walls, his wings beating wearily to gain more height. Valentine watched as Ma'al rose towards the sun, where his wings for a moment spread a shadow over the sand, the Dark Maker and their tiny buggy. Then, with a frightening roar, Ma'al fell towards the ground.

For a moment the trio lost sight of the Dark Maker behind a dune, but then they were high up once more. Erol shot dark purple beams at the approaching King. Ma'al dodged them all, barely adjusting his course. As he came closer to the ground, Valentine could see the fading sunlight reflect from his scales, murky red and dirty yellow. Daxter gripped his nails around her shoulder, stretching his neck to see what would happen. Erol shot again, and this time Ma'al roared in pain. Valentine flinched when long, leathery strips were stripped away from the inside of his wings.

"Ma'al!" The King had better not gotten killed.

Still, he crashed against the Dark Maker, knocking the machine to the side. The long, ungainly legs faltered, buckling in the unplanned motion. Sand, colored red and gold, wafted up in imposing curtains around the scene. Valentine clasped a hand in front of her mouth when they passed through such a cloud, clenching her eyes shut. Unlike Jak she didn't have her goggles with her, and now wasn't the time to be blinded.  
In the distance, Ma'al rose, teeth flickering as he straggled to regain balance. Erol fired a new shot, at the same time maneuvering up once more. The shot tore a piece of the King's shoulder, knocking him back against the sand. Valentine reached out towards Ma'al, establishing a mental link faster than ever before. He was still alive, but hurting so bad. He had never known Dark Eco to burn his skin.

"We won't make it in time," Jak shouted, still not bothering to slow down. "We need another distraction."

Valentine nodded and reached out to Meta. As expected, her friend has taken to the sky as well, but had taken longer than Ma'al to arrive to the scene. Now she darted through the air, easily dodging shots aimed at her. The Scout was a far smaller target than a King. Valentine turned to Jak, placing Daxter on the seat between them. "I'll go."

"What, that's crazy! You can't go alone!" Jak shouted at the same time with Daxter.

"I'm not going alone. Meta's with me, and you guys will catch up quick enough. Trust me. We can do this, together!" Valentine shouted back as Meta plummeted through the sky.

"I thought you were supposed to be the brains of this team!" Jak growled at her, grabbing her wrist and yanking her close.

Valentine smiled, feeling the adrenaline run in her veins. There was nobody else who could stage an attack, nobody but her or Metal Heads. Of the two, she was the only one who could formulate a plan without someone telling her what to do. She leant forward and kissed Jak hard, twining her fingers in his hair. When they broke loose she smiled. "It's called roleplay, big guy. Now, hurry up and help me out. I can't do this without you."

He nodded, most of his facial expression hidden by the goggles. Still, she could tell it didn't sit well with him. As they rode up another dune, Valentine stood up in her seat. Meta flew behind them, gaining on them with every second. Jak kept the car as stable as he could. "We're going to talk about this when it's over, you hear me, Val?"

Valentine nodded, raised her arms up in the sky and then found gravity no longer had a hold on her. Meta had gripped her strong claws around her wrists, pulling her up with her in a fluent motion. Sand beat against her bare hands and reached inside her clothes, scraping against the skin. The air was still hot, like a furnace. And yet the prospect of this, the prospect of one final fight, made her feel alive.

Meta carried the both of them upward, away from the buggy that held Jak. Once there was enough distance between them and the ground, the Scout twirled in the sky, throwing her humanoid rider up and away from her. Valentine spread her arms, the wind nearly yanking them out of their sockets. A shot pierced the air beneath her and Meta roared in defiance, before grabbing Valentine again. The sudden arrest made her teeth clack together, but she didn't care. Below them the Dark Maker was rapidly approaching. "We need to stop Erol."

And suddenly there he was. The sunlight glinted in orange of his metal limbs, and there was no denying his glare when he spotted her. Then Meta released her grip, allowing Valentine to fall. Erol attempted to move away from her, but he wasn't fast enough. Valentine fell into him, knocking him away from the controls. In their dishevelment it was hard to notice how the Dark Maker lurched to the side, but there was no mistaking the creaking, snapping sounds. Something broke with a loud hiss, and then Valentine was tossed forward against the railing. Her head collided with the metal, and then she tasted blood.

Hastily she blinked, clearing her vision. Erol was only a few meters away from her, as disoriented as she was. Another snapping sound and they were both thrown backward, sliding across the smooth floor. When all had quieted down Erol stood up, his metal joints releasing sparks of electricity. "You bitch!"

"That's no way to speak to an arch nemesis, is it?" she quipped, grabbing the railing to pull herself up. With the back of her hand she wiped away the blood from her mouth, wincing when she felt the cut on her lip.

"You're dead," Erol stated, and something moved in the corner of Valentine's eye. Then Meta growled, appearing from the other side. A robot fell to the ground, where Meta at once started to dismantle it. The Metal Head bit at the most fragile components, leaving Erol to Valentine.

"Alone at last. C'mon Erol. Afraid to fight me on your own?" she spat on the ground, the red contrasting with the metal floor like rust.

Erol moved towards her, grabbing at her with his normal hand. That wasn't any good, she needed his prosthetic limbs to do damage. She ducked, moving towards him. He grabbed her with a cold metal hand, squeezing her throat. All sanity had left his eyes. "I never was afraid of little girls."

She bared her teeth, and found the Dark Eco coursing through his body. Sparks burst from his prosthetic hand, preventing him from breaking her neck. With a curse he dropped her on the ground. Before he could move again, she kicked against his head. "Then you should fear the woman grown."

He slammed against the control board, activating a row of buttons. Most of it was pretty harmless, but several smaller Dark Makers were suddenly released from the innards of the robot. Erol grinned when he saw her look. "This is a Terraformer, meant to transform any planet into a hospitable place for these creatures. There are more where these came from. Would you like to-"

He stopped his speech when Valentine slammed her dagger in his good hand. Blood mixed with Dark Eco oozed thickly from the wound, before she slammed the heel of her palm against his nose. More contaminated blood, crackling and burning, poured over her hand. On reflex he jerked, catching her legs and throwing her down. When she fell, a stabbing pain shot through her left hand. She hissed, rolling to the side just in time. Erol smashed down his prosthetic fist where she had just lain.

Meta lunged at him, jumping over Valentine to protect her. Erol backhanded the Scout, flinging her towards the rails. Before the Metal Head could retaliate, the smaller Dark Makers swarmed her. On instinct Valentine turned back, back to protect Meta. For a moment the Scout was once again a hatchling in need, and Valentine the only one who could save her.

Erol kicked her in the back. Valentine fell to her knees, scraping across the floor. She cried out, reaching a hand towards Meta. Then she was kicked to the side, pain numbing her thoughts. "This really takes me back, you know. To those good old times, when you still thought mommy and daddy were going to save you. But you always were a quick learner."

Erol thought he was right, but Valentine knew better. This wasn't a damp cell in the bowels of Haven anymore. Above her was the twilight sky, and wind, and freedom. And she wasn't defenseless anymore. And she didn't need protecting anymore either. She placed her palms flat against the Dark Maker, searching for the energy core. The Dark Eco fought her, every step of the way, stopping her from unleashing the guns on Erol. Instead she closed the hatches, stopping the flood of those infernal small Makers.

Her tormentor mocked her, laughing and taunting. Valentine bared her teeth again, growling like a Metal King. Then a bullet ricocheted from the side of his head, shutting him up.

Jak stepped over the edge, aiming his gun at Erol. The first bullet was followed by one, two, a barrage. They chimed as they made contact, forcing Erol to back away. Daxter dropped to the ground while Jak distracted Erol. "Val, are you okay? You gave me and our boy a real scare just now."

She raised herself, looking at where Meta had landed. Blood filled Valentine's mouth and coated her teeth, thick and burning down her throat. The Metal Head bled from numerous gashes, but her teeth tore through one of the small Makers with ease. Meta was alive. Valentine felt tears well up in the corners of her eyes. "We're fine. Let's finish this."

When Valentine looked back at Erol, dents and gashes disfigured his body. Still he showed no signs of stopping, charging at Jak. The hero dodged him, albeit barely. With a growl Valentine grabbed the cold steel floor, searching for the Eco once more. "You're mine. Obey me."

A voice whispered in the back of her head, the one she hadn't heard every since Seem had given her the medicine. The Dark Eco called out to her, a taunting song, only this time it didn't try to possess her. It eluded her grasp, slipped like smoke between her fingers. But this time she would be the one in control. With the taste of blood rich in her mouth, she forced her dominion on the Dark Maker. Guns unlatched around them, every single one pointed at Erol.

Jak butted his enemy in the face, the back of his gun intensifying earlier done damage. Then he swiped Erol's legs from beneath him, and in one fluent motion shot down. The bullet sent flesh and sinew in the air, but still Erol laughed. The laughter was choked, guttural and insane, but it was still laughter. The bullet had gone through his throat, and still Erol laughed.

Valentine unleashed the guns, and Erol's metal casing withstood the assault. Jak attacked with all the rage he could muster, and only ended cutting his own skin. Light Eco danced over his wounds, while Dark Eco poured from his fingers in a half-transformed state. Yet Erol laughed, wide-eyed, saliva dripping over his lips. It was as if nothing could kill him.

Then he slammed a button, a hatch opened and he had disappeared. Left without a target the heroes looked around them, panting heavily. Cold sweat dripped from Valentine's body, sand sticking to exposed surfaces. Her hair waved about in a sudden gust of wind. Then Jak pushed her to the side as a gigantic head bashed to the ground.

The floor beneath them quaked, and someone screamed. Valentine didn't know if it was her or Daxter. Her wrist snapped audibly, and then she was certain she screamed. Jak covered her body one second, and pulled her up the next. They moved sluggishly, the floor tilting beneath their feet. Ma'al had attempted to help them, his large head and feral eyes glittering in the oncoming night. But his movements forced the Maker to tilt even more, hindering their escape.

Valentine tried to reach out to him, tried to tell him to stop. But her thoughts had been wiped away by pain and anger. All she wanted to do was end Erol. Bring an end to him and her pain and Jak's pain. She reached down to the Eco once more, groping blindly while Jak guided her around. Blood pricked in her eyes, hot and sticky. Then she found it, glowing in her mind, all the Eco the Maker had left. "Its head. Jak, shoot the head!"

She couldn't see, but she felt it. A blooming sun, pure energy, gathered at the head. But no matter how much she blinked, the blood clouded her vision. Next to her, Jak steadied her. "What does it look like? Val?"

"Big! And shining!" she shouted, making a guess, hoping she was right. Desperate she reached out, grabbing the Eco that ran towards the head where Erol hid. She forced it still, wrestling with the streams of energy.

"If I shoot that, it's gonna blow!" Jak warned her, his arm tightening around her. Daxter coiled around her neck, holding on to her as well.

Valentine shook her head, wishing she could see. "If you don't, everyone will die!"

She felt Jak nod, and how he aimed his gun. For a moment they were perfectly still, cradled in eternity. "I love you, Val."  
And he pulled the trigger. The moment the bullet left, he threw his gun to the side. Instead he grabbed her, wrapped his hands around her waist and pulled her close. Valentine raised her hands and met him halfway, clinging to him. An explosion sounded, hot air blew over them, rustling their hair and clothes. Then their feet left the ground, but no flames followed. Heat didn't sear them in the kiss, though they were jostled against each other.

In the aftermath of the explosion, Valentine opened her eyes. She still couldn't see, but this time it wasn't because of the blood clouding her vision. This time darkness really enveloped them wholly. "Jak?"

"I'm here," He said, pulling her close to him. Daxter groaned loudly, struggling free from between their bodies. A leathery rustling sound followed, and then the last rays of the sun shed their light on them once more. Looking down on them, Ma'al showed a toothy grin.

"Are you unharmed, King Valentine?" He asked, voice rumbling as his Gem flickered. His wings had taken the brunt of the damage, but he was alive. Alive and very pleased with himself. "Now this was a Hunt that will always be remembered."

"Ma'al! Oh, I love you, you strange bastard!" Valentine cried out, leaping against the Metal Heads neck. She wrapped her arms around him, scales scratching her skin. Next to her Jak took his place. He tapped a fist against the scaled skin as well, looking weary but triumphant. "Thanks, Ma'al."

"Ma'al, I could kiss ya, ya big scaly weirdo!" Daxter shouted, immediately acting upon his word. He doused the Metal King's skin in slobbery kisses, promising the King to name his firstborn after him.

Behind them a plaintive cry sounded. Valentine turned around and at once released Ma'al, instead wrapping her arms around Meta. "Oh, Meta! You were so brave! I'm so proud of you!"  
Deep gashes had been torn across the Metal Head's flesh, blood already crusting at the edges. Valentine kissed the Scout on the nose, cooing sweet words at her. Behind them the remnants of the Maker littered the desert. When Valentine heard a gate open, she realized how close to the city the battle had taken them. One deep breach in the walls showed what a close call it had been.

People ran outside, shouting questions or cheering. Ma'al at once was surrounded by several women, who all scolded him for taking such risks. The huge King swiveled his head this was and that, apologizing profusely to 'female Rae' and 'female Aila' and all other sorts of females. Jak found his hand pumped up and down by an overjoyed Kleiver, while Valentine was tackled by her students.

When the initial turmoil quieted down, Damas walked out of the city gates, a crutch supporting his movements. Valentine and Jak turned towards the man at the same time. He reached out a hand towards them, beckoning them close. Later Valentine would never be able to say which one of them had started, but eventually they were all crying. Tears of relief and joy to flood away the angst. Her King pulled them close, one in each arm, holding tight as if he never wanted to let go. He pressed a kiss on her cheek, warm and loving. "My girl, you did well."

Then she was pulled away by a worried Seem, who at once started to fuss over the wound in her head. As she turned around she could see Damas pressing a serious kiss on Jak's forehead, tears lining his cheek in the sun. "My son... you came back. You came home."


	55. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So this is basically a bunch of requests I got from people who supported the story while I was writing on FF. I'd also appreciate it a ton - like, you have no idea how much - if you guys could follow me on Twitter and on my blog. There's not much on either at the point of me writing this, but employers in the writing bizz do take note of how much people read the stuff you do. So if you guys follow me, you could end up helping me get a job. Which would be sweet. (also you can totally talk to me on Twitter or so, I'd love to chat).
> 
> So, twitter is : @ReaderMaru  
> and my blog is aceisagoodword.wordpress.com
> 
> The blog is three parts : me talking about my life as a writer (or keeping a diary), me posting short stories I've written and me talking about life as an asexual.

Seeing as how this is the official, last installment of my until now longest fanfic, I believe a short goodbye is in order. It took a long time to get this finished and the first chapters are terrifying - congrats to everyone who made it this far. I never thought it would be this long, I exceeded my original word count by about 100 000. Actually, this fic is the length of about two average novels. If I can feel proud about one thing, it's that I stuck with this fic for this long. Please don't read all of this in one go. Love yourself. Get some fresh air every once in a while, if you're the kind of person who needs it.

Please remember to support the fanfiction authors whose work you enjoy. We are fragile creatures and people telling us how they like our work is what keeps us alive. Thank you for supporting me up until this point, please do the same for others.  
Now, on to the random extra writing :

 

_Character File : Valentine Ashiari_

Bio :

Before the age of twelve, Valentine enjoyed the upbringing around court. Her mother was bodyguard to Mar's mother, while her father was one of the most promising programmers in town. She herself was taught in history, languages and self defense. If there had been no uprising in the future, she would have almost certainly followed in her fathers footsteps, eventually becoming one of the most prominent engineers in security detail.  
Valentine was captured by the Baron's forces on the first day of his uprising. Despite having been considered a minor target due to her age, Erol's disputes with her family, the result of an old feud at court led to him being especially vindictive when it came to anyone sharing her name. It was easy for him to acquire permission to enter her into The Program; the Ashiari family was considered proficient in the channeling of Eco. What had once been considered a promising ability for Valentine led to the most traumatizing experience of her life.  
She escaped at age sixteen, approximately a month and a half before Jak was captured. After a rough handling by one of the guards she was deemed a lesser risk and received less guarding while healing from her wounds. Realizing she was truly the last survivor of her family, a spark of rage fueled the Eco. Her first transformation allowed her to overpower her guards, while both luck and intuition guided her outside of the prison complex. She made way for her Uncle Vin's home, the only known blood relative she had left. There she encountered Torn. Mistaking him for a Krimzon Guard she attacked him, but the severity of her wounds and exhaustion soon left her unable to do any lasting harm.

Physical traits :

Dark blue eyes, full lips, dark long brown hair. Averaging at the same height as Jak, she sometimes wears heels because she likes being taller than him. Though she is of average weight at the beginning of the story, her time in Spargus leaves her more lean and muscled. She has an array of scars, some of them facial but most covered by her shirt. As DE-girl she preferred dark purple and black clothing, but as princess of Spargus she developed a preference for more natural colors.

Character development - personal remarks :

Of all my female characters I've written, Valentine is most likely to solve things by a fistfight. Her character design started first as thinking about which job I wanted her to have. She passed the revue as a hairdresser, baker, thief and lounge singer. Eventually she became - to my everlasting shame - a popstar, though this choice was mostly so I could have the 'big' scene where she believes herself betrayed by Jak. In the end, I like to think that she ended up maturing throughout the story. She's a strong character, but she has her fair share of faults. She's stubborn and prone to overthinking. When she doesn't overthink, she jumps to conclusions and refuses to budge from them. This in combination with a low self-esteem at the beginning of the story made for her most prominent character faults, at least in my eyes.

_Character File : Ma'al_

Bio :

At a little over 350 years during his first appearance, Ma'al is the youngest of the Metal Kings. Due to this, he doesn't have the necessary standing to add to his opinion. When the other Kings decide to do nothing about the threatening invasion, if they not actively participate with the Dark Makers that is, he is left standing alone. The answer to his questions comes when he receives words from some of his children. A woman who had infiltrated a research facility and freed the captive Metal Heads roamed the desert. She had bonded with a Scout, indicating she was at least open to negotiations. He started to plot several ways to meet her, most dramatic and impossible. His surprise grew when she came to him in what she believed to be a suicide mission.  
During his time spent with Valentine, Ma'al came to realize that there was more than one way to live life. He is still confused about how communication works, or mating, food allocation or any of those things. But he is prepared to spend a few more centuries figuring that out. His agreement with Spargus has granted his nest a special status now, one which he exploits to the fullest.

Character development - personal remarks :

Ma'al is a bit of a special character in my cast, because I never intended him to become so prominent in the story. But readers seemed to enjoy his occasional appearance, and soon he turned into a comedic, fanservice character. Nevertheless, he has has own motivations, one of the major ones his unrequited crush on Valentine. I like to think the two would have ended up together if Jak had never come to Spargus. As far as reproductive systems go, I had to draw most of my information about Kings from Kor. In the final battle, Kor lays eggs and is male. Therefore, Ma'al also can carry children while being male. I don't think it's too far from the truth that the King of the Metal species may possess both semen and ovaries, meaning the Kings usually mate with one another. This also shows why he thought Valentine was a valid candidate for courting.  
Ma'al is, in short, an idiot. He just happens to be a very handsome, very charming, idiot.

|Mix it Up|

Seem inspected the herbs in the burlap bag with a critical eye, comparing them with the drawing in the old book she held in her hand. "These don't look like the ones I asked for."

The merchant peered in the book as well and blinked. "I don't see a difference, monk."

Seem vaguely gestured at the page, not daring to touch the delicate paper. "The stripes should be vertical, not horizontal. And the stem curls more than depicted as well."

This time the man took a second look, taking a pair of reading glasses out of his front pocket. Peering at the page and semi-fresh herbs he finally shrugged. "These are the ones that were labeled for you, and I'm sticking to that story. And can you really be sure, it might be smudges. Book looks mighty old, older than my granny."

The monk hesitated, before reaching in her pocket to pay the man. The book was old, the herb might have adapted in unforeseen ways. And she could always test them on a Metal Head first, even though she wasn't quite supposed to. Valentine would throw a fit if she found out Seem had been using some of the Scorpions to test new medicines. And the medicine she intended on brewing was intended for her friends, who had developed a nasty cough after their adventure in Kras City. They were possibly after-effects from the poison they had been administered there, and Seem considered it her duty to make sure they recovered as fast as possible.

Behind her the merchant shouted out the next destination - Haven City - as she made her way through a throng of people who had come to the docks in their free hours. Seem spent the better part of the afternoon locked away in her room, testing the herbs on several of the Metal Heads who seemed to experience no ill effects. After a few more days she had determined the medicine would cause no lingering harm. The only thing left was rounding up her victims and forcing the medicine down their throats.

Finding Ashelin and Torn was easy. The two of them had agreed to stay in Spargus for as long as it took for Seem to find a cure, and Seem quickly arrived at their shared living quarters. Both of them took their pills in one go, Torn not even bothering to drink some water to make it go down smoother. Keira was next, the woman having flown over just two days ago after a quick message from Seem. She took the pills in between unpacking some of her suitcases, pulling out what looked like an exhaust pipe from one of the bigger ones. It was followed by a strap of leather and the words 'seat belt, special order'.

Lastly she found Valentine, Jak, Daxter, Sig and Damos in the throne room. Out of all of them, Daxter took the longest to convince to just take the pills and get it over with.

"Listen, Seem, I got poisoned once already, I don't need it happening again."

"I tested it thoroughly before I even considered giving it to you. So please, just take it and get it over with?" Seem pleaded. Valentine took Daxter's one pill in her hand and closed one eye, waiting for the Ottsel to start yapping again.

"Forget it, there is NO WAY that I- Agh… ahghggh…"

"Well, that's still perfect aim for me. Just swallow it Dax, it's just a pill. It doesn't even taste as gross as the syrup Seem makes."

"Valentine! That was totally uncalled for!"

"Don't take those pills!" Torn yelled at them, dragging Keira and Ashelin behind him. The two women giggled at each other, before rolling their eyes at Torn.

Seem turned to the man, as well as the others. "Is something the matter?"

This unleashed a new barrage of giggles from the two women, and even a chuckle from Torn. He coughed, rearranging his eyebrows in a frown. "Yeah, there is… after we took those pills the world started getting crazy, Seem. Like… colorful."

"Everything keeps spinning," Keira added in a helpful tone.

Ashelin tried to look serious, but couldn't fight the grin that kept appearing on her face. "Some of the civilians kept looking at us funnily. King Damas, I fear you might have spies in your city."

At this the elderly man stood up, before hiccuping once. Seem felt the hairs at the back of her neck prickle up at the behavior. When her King attempted to walk to the streets she stopped him, stooping down to grab Daxter who seemed to be intent on fighting Torn.

"Seem, you ain't so bad. Sure, you smell funny and look like lil' kids used you as a coloring book, but deep down y'are pretty swell. A real class dame," The Ottsel confided in her, before pressing a moist kiss against her cheek. Then he observed his own paw. "Wow, were my hands always this furry? Jak, buddy, check this out."

Jak walked over to the group, wrapping a hand around his father's shoulder to keep standing. "Woah, check that out. Mine doesn't look like that at all, Dax."

"Heh, you're right. Hey, old man, show us what your hand looks like. Woah, that one doesn't look like mine either! You guys are Weird!"

Seem realized what was happening. The herbs had been the wrong ones after all! Torn seemed mostly unaffected, even managing to keep Keira and Ashelin under control. The two had gotten to argue about the color 'blue'. When the former KG-soldier caught her look he nodded slowly. "The Baron pumped us full of drugs before a big fight. I know some of what I can expect."

His words would have been more comforting if they hadn't been interrupted by the occasional giggle. Seem turned around and saw Valentine peering over the waterfall in the room, leaning dangerously over the edge. With a scream she grabbed the woman by the scruff of her collar, pulling her back. "What are you doing?"

Valentine pointed behind her. "I always wondered how the water got up here. Maybe if I follow it down, I can figure out how it gets back up as well."

Seem had to stop Valentine from leaning over the edge once more. "Now Valentine, wouldn't it be more interesting if you… if you help Jak and Daxter determine which one of their hands is more normal?"

Valentine considered the idea for a moment. "No thanks."

"Then! Uhm… how about discussing 'blue' with Ashelin and Keira?"

Another pause while Valentine furrowed her brow. "They're discussing 'blue'? That's just idiotic."

For a moment Seem got her hopes up. Clarity dawned in Valentine's eyes as she looked at the two women.

"Everybody knows 'orange' is far more interesting!"

—In Haven —

"Sorry Jinx, this just isn't doing it for me," one of his closer friends announced through a cloud of smoke. They'd been smoking the herbs for over an hour now and still didn't feel a thing. This was a far cry from what he had been promised. Annoyed, Jinx ran a finger across the vertical lines in the leaves, reaching for the familiar comfort of his usual cigar. Chairs scraped backwards over the floor as his friends left the room.

"Next time at my place, right?"  
"I'll bring the stuff then."  
"Sorry Jinx, sometimes the stuff is just too weak."

He didn't understand a thing, they'd even used the damn leaves pure at that. Ol' Joel leaned over his shoulder, his breath smelling like cough drops. "Jinx, bud, can I take the rest of those home with me?"

Hope flickered in his chest. "You feeling somethin' Joel?"

"Nah man, but I think this stuff cleared up my sinuses. Think they'll help with my allergies?"

Jinx waved a hand, sending the smoke in the room around in swirls. As Joel left he promised himself this was the last time he bought anything from that merchant. The fact he was still sober enough to remember this clearly in the morning was proof enough someone had screwed up.

|The Unusual Nest|

Keira absently scratched a small scab on the side of her hand, trying to see the ship that would be delivering Ma'al - an actual Metal King! - to Haven. Normally the King would have been accompanied by Valentine or Jak, but both of them had become busy with a few unexpected problems. So they had asked Keira if she would be able to handle the King for a few hours, an afternoon at most. Could she show him around town a bit, explain how things were functioning?

She considered the few stray things she'd heard about their exotic guest. From Valentine she'd heard that the man was tall and friendly, easy to get along with but strange in his ways. But there had also been a reassurance that if he was a problem, it was not because he was being obstinate on purpose.

Jak had told her that she should try to keep the King at an arms length at all times. He had heard strange things about what was and what was not proper, and Keira might not be very happy with what Ma'al considered to be manners. And Daxter had told her the King was a convinced nudist, tall and with a voracious appetite. Considering what Metal Heads considered food, the last part worried her more than anything else.

The visit was to be a semi-formal one, which meant they would only be visiting Ashelin and Torn later on that day, for dinner and some polite conversation. Keira's mind uncomfortably wandered to what might be served this evening, and hoped rare meat would be the worst thing she was expected to choke down. For a moment she considered her hands. She had managed to scrub off the oil and grease, the telltale marks of her favorite pastime. Her hands looked foreign to her like this, too bare and fragile. The platform where she was waiting left her feeling vulnerable. She much preferred the shelter her workshop provided her. But no, today she was acting as a neutral representative.

Tall, dark and with an impressive set of teeth. That was how Daxter had described Ma'al, and her heart raced at the thought of having to guide such a monstrosity through Haven. Why couldn't Jak for once have normal friends? Why did he have to insist on surrounding himself with… creatures?

Movement in the corner of her eye betrayed the ship arriving. The light metal gleamed in the pale sunlight as it started to descend. Keira nervously ran her hands through her hair, straightening her shirt. She really didn't like the idea of having to do this, but there was no one else. And he wouldn't actually eat her. At least, she was certain he wouldn't. According to Jak, Ma'al had promised to limit his diet to creatures that didn't walk on two legs.

The transport landed with minimal creaking. Keira was relieved to see that this one would only require the barest of repairs. Then the hatch opened with hissing, the metal banging down on concrete. Several Wastelanders jumped out before it had fully opened, most of them here for trade. A few that had come for sightseeing followed soon after, hardly taking the time to smooth out the crinkles in their clothing before they too moved on. And then he appeared.

Tall and dark was certainly the right word, but Daxter had failed to mention the eyes. They were dark gold, and intense. Keira had no doubt Ma'al was a predator at heart, his eyes scanning every inch of the platform before he stepped out of the transport. His robes had been pinned together at the shoulder with an obstinate pin. Judging from what she knew, it was likely Valentine who had added that touch, to ensure Ma'al wouldn't strip down in the middle of Haven. Eventually his gaze landed on her, and the corners of his mouth pulled up in a convincing smile.

As he neared, Keira was relieved to note that his teeth really weren't that more pronounced than those of the average guy. His hair was slicked back, somehow pronouncing his cheek bones more. She could certainly see how Ma'al could be alluring to pretty much anyone with a set of eyes. He stopped a neat three paces away from her, and bowed from his middle. "Fema- miss Keira, I presume?"

He looked up with a big smile, and for a moment Keira nearly swallowed her own tongue. "Yeah, that's me. Glad to see you got here safely."

He nodded his agreement with the statement and then waited for her to continue. Realizing she had to be the host during this trip, Keira gestured behind her. "Well, let's go. Is there anything you would like to see while you're here?"

"My friend Daxter suggested I might find a place called 'the Red Light District' very enlightening. He refused to elaborate on the matter however. Perhaps we can start our reconnaissance there?" Ma'al suggested in an innocent tone.

Keira sputtered. "Don't listen to Daxter when he suggests things. How about we start with… ehm…"

"May I purchase something from that machine over there?" Ma'al asked her, pointing to a dingy vending machine. Keira nodded, scratching the back of her head while trying to find anything that might interest a Metal King in disguise. Everyone had seemed so convinced nothing bad would happen, they hadn't even provided a guard for the both of them.

As they approached, Ma'al explained to her quite proudly how King Valentine had allotted him some allowance, to be spent however he choose during his visit. Keira nodded, a polite smile gracing her features. The King continued how fascinating he found their entire way of living here, before asking her opinion on which beverage he should sample. Keira pointed out one of the safest choices, before guiding Ma'al further inside the city. He yelped in surprise after his first taste of the drink.

"Does your species enjoy this… bubbling in your mouth?" he asked in genuine confusion.

"Ugh… yeah. I mean, we're used to drinking it…" Keira considered it for a moment. "I think we like it because of all the sugar in it. I usually have some if I have to work late."

Ma'al considered it for a moment, before taking another sip. With some strain he complimented the amount of sugar he could taste. Then, undoubtedly as a means to avoid having to take a new sip, he asked another question. "Perhaps you can enlighten me on how your species communicates."

"We… use words. And writing. I think those two are the main means. Why?"

Ma'al shook his head, gesturing about him. "No, I mean here. On those strange zooming vehicles you ride, or while you walk on the road. Us Metal Heads use scents and co-ordination coming from a King to do this. I assume King Damas does the same in Spargus. But here… King Valentine informed me you have no King. How do you stop yourselves from falling into chaos?"

Keira glanced around her, as if she expected some grand director to pop out from around a corner. "We… just pay attention to where we're going. And there are rules for driving a vehicle, so people won't get hurt that easily." When she caught Ma'als stare she gestured around her as well, encompassing the entire city in a gesture. "We just follow rules, and we look where we're walking. It's just common sense at work here."

"Common Sense," Ma'al repeated after her, and she suspected someone in Spargus would have to take a day out of their schedule explaining the concept to Ma'al. "Miss Keira, please show me some other things."

"Like what?" she asked, slowly thawing to the King's alien charisma. He acted more like a really courteous foreigner than a bloodthirsty animal.

"Your most favored activity?" he suggested.

They spent the rest of the day, unexpectedly, in her work shop and at the racing tracks. Ma'al did not quite see the use for a sport with so little bloodshed, but he allowed it had potential. His suggestion for adding either robots or Metal Hunters to the track were shot down, which he took in good humour. As he later informed Keira, not all great ideas were accepted at once, as his current alliance with Spargus proved. And he personally would have liked to race in his true form, only the track seemed rather small for something like that. He felt that squashing his opponents would be an unfair method of winning. Keira agreed with him, though for different reasons than the King suspected. Since Praxis was dead, casualty numbers had gone down. Though a Metal King would be a spectacular way of raising them, she suspected at least Ashelin was happy about the low mortality rates.

In her workshop he found great joy in fiddling with small items he found laying around, scattered in organized piles. Several times he nearly upset one of the stacks, only to shove them back in place with an ease that was amazing. She suspected Ma'al was a sparring partner to be reckoned with. At dinner he was more inclined to listen than to talk, though he asked a few questions of Ashelin concerning on how she managed to rule despite not being able to mentally bond with her subjects. While he ate, he politely sampled some of the vegetables, preferring a rare steak above them. And three steaks to follow that one. He also listened to Torn, who he apparently considered as a person of importance. "King Valentine holds your advice in great regard. That alone is enough for me, but you also survived several assaults on your city, with an admirable lack of losses."

At the end of the evening she stretched out a hand for him to shake. With a slow smile he grabbed her hand in both of his, vigorously pumping the offered appendage up and down. "This is the correct way to do this, is it not?"

Keira nodded, making the Metal King beam in pride. As their handshake continued, he made a final offer. "Miss Keira, if you are ever in the opportunity, I shall gladly give you a tour of my Nest. It might be… very different from this one, but perhaps you will be able to draw inspiration from it either way? Several of the Spargus warriors have been decorating recently. The effect is quite lovely."

Keira nodded, though she didn't think she'd ever take him up on the offer. "We shall see, King Ma'al. Have a safe journey home then."

As he departed, she didn't quite consider him a friend. But, she had to admit, sometimes appearances and gossip could be deceiving.

|Beach Day|

"That stuff belonged to you?" Valentine demanded as soon as she heard Jinx tell about his misfortunes when buying drugs. She scrambled over the sand and an unsuspecting Jak, planting her knee in his stomach in her haste of reaching Jinx. "You had us all high as a friggin' kite!"

Jinx tried to pry the necklace around his neck from Valentine's fingers, without choking himself in the process. "H-hey, I should be the one angry with you. My friends don't even trust me to buy anything anymore these days. Val, babe, I kinda need air!"

Jak rubbed his stomach, having retreated from the fight. As Jinx' sputtering continued he offered a shred of helpful advice. "Don't call her babe, Jinx."

"No murder on the beach, Valentine, or I'll have to arrest you!" Torn shouted to the would-be murderess and victim, before tossing a beach ball to Ma'al. The Metal King caught the ball and sniffed it, suspicious of the plastic scent wafting from the object. He offered to help Valentine get rid of the body - no evidence meant no crime, right? - before being hit on the back of the head by Ashelin.

Valentine let go of Jinx, who gulped for air in an exaggerated fashion. Pouting she folded her arms in front of her, allowing Jak to smooth her hair back for her. "I would've only mangled him a little bit," she told her lover, who nodded full of understanding.

"You did mangle me, and not a little bit," Jinx growled, his voice more smoky than normal.

Jak threw Jinx a warning glance, gesturing to the beach ball game the others were enjoying. The sun was hot on this Spargus beach day, warming the white sand and clear blue sea. To Daxter's great pleasure there had been no sign of the giant squid, and Jak had to admit some relief about that as well. Something about a giant calamari swimming free in the ocean had a tendency to make people nervous.

"Who wants burgers?!" Daxter shouted from his place near the grill. Next to him Sig deftly flipped the meat on the grill, looking as if he wanted nothing better than stand near a source of fire on this hot day.

"Come and get them cherries, while they're juicy and hot," the tall man added with a smile, slapping away Daxter's paws when the Ottsel tried to add more hot peppers to the seasoning.

Daxter scooted back with the hot pepper mix, glancing at Ma'al. "As if you don't want to see what happens when we feed these to a Metal King." Tess shook her head when she heard her boyfriend make the suggestion.

Jak immediately turned to Ma'al who walked by them to get a rare burger. "Whatever you do, don't drink the seawater."

Ma'al shrugged at the strange advice. Valentine looked at the King with a grin on her face. "You think Torn would try to arrest Ma'al for murder?"

The hero considered the question for a few seconds. "I think he would have a hard time explaining the problem to him. After all, Ma'al still seems to think you can't prove anything if there's no body."

"You know, he once proposed to get rid of you that way," Valentine said, brushing the sand off her thighs as she stood up. Jak paled as he considered the King in a new light. "I told him you weren't to be eaten, so don't worry."

"So if we ever get into a big fight?" Jak asked, suddenly feeling uneasy at the ease with which Ma'al polished off his first burger. He was surprised by a sudden tap on the back of his head.

"Then you'll answer to me for fighting with my daughter-in-law," Damas promised him with a friendly grin.

It didn't take Jak long to decide. "I can live with that!"

"And me," Torn added, after a first bite of burger.

"Well, ganging up on me isn't fair at all, you know…" Jak began to waver.

"Guys, please!" Valentine held up a hand to request silence. "Everyone knows I am perfectly capable of settling things with my dear, soon to be husband myself. I'll simply tell him he can sleep on the couch."

Jak lifted Valentine on his shoulder and carried her off. "Oh, really now?"

"Jak, where are we going?" Valentine asked with a rise of panic in her voice. His shoulder, despite being muscular, still pressed against her stomach in an uncomfortable way. The walk on the sand made his gait bumpy and awkward. When she noted they were walking on damp sand she squirmed. As soon as waves splashed around his ankles she kicked her legs.

"No, I don't want to swim! Put me down!"

"In a few seconds I will, my darling," Jak promised her, the smile audible in his words.

"Jak, Jak, no I-"

When he dumped her in the water she screeched, scrambling to her feet. By the time she'd gotten up he was halfway across the beach, waving back at herwith a smile. Oh, she would get him for that!

|Heated Emotions|

"Val?"

"..."

"Val? Val?!"

"... yeah? Jak, what? I'm kind of busy here," Valentine stretched, working out some kinks in her muscles. She'd been sitting hunched over at a desk for the past two hours, occasionally calling Uncle Vin to ask for help in drafting up a new security coding system. Torn had been haranguing her about it for weeks, and she'd finally gotten down to actually doing it a few days ago.

Jak didn't look very happy. "This is the first time I've seen you in a week! What are you doing?

"Writing something for Torn. I'll be done in a few days, so just hang on if you could?"

Jak slammed down his hand on the table. "No Val, I won't 'hang on'. You're my wife, and yet you spend more time with Torn than with me. And if you're not with him, there's other things like the council, my dad, Tess... It never ends!"

Valentine rubbed her temples, groaning when Jak opened the curtains. She worked the best in the dark, and hadn't been outside ever since she started working. "That's nonsense... We had a date just before you left on that one mission your dad gave you. Which one was it again?"

"That ended the day before yesterday, Val! This is what I'm talking about, you're too busy. Can you just take a Precursor's be damned rest every once in a while? The world won't end if you start taking it easy." Jak wasn't exactly shouting, but he wasn't using a polite conversational tone either.

It raised the hairs on the back of her neck to be talked to like that. She slammed her hands down on the table, and stood up. Before Jak could register what happened she stood in front of him, poking her index finger against his chest as she talked. "I take plenty of breaks, just so you know. It just happens that every time I'm free, you're out in the Wasteland doing who knows what. You can't just go out and handle business, no, you have to explore the entire area for little secrets."

He glowered at her, grabbing her wrist before she could poke him again. "Well, I can't help it if Damas asks me to go out and do something. All I'm asking now is that you take a few minutes and just talk to me."

Valentine gestured behind her, to the program she'd been writing. "Well, I'm almost done. Just a few more days and-"

"Val!" Jak roared, a dark spark drawing across his fist and biceps. Valentine blinked, realizing somehow he had been pushed too far. It had been years since his last loss of control, but that didn't make it any less dangerous. He repeated that he wanted her to take a rest, but she was too busy checking his symptoms. His pupils started to dilate, and his nails were already taking on a darker color. She needed to snap him out of his rage before he was too far gone.

She stepped closer to him. To his dazed mind the move was unexpected and foolish, and therefore threw him off balance. She raised her arms and wrapped them around his neck. He opened his mouth to protest, but whatever he tried to say was muffled by her lips pressed over his. He froze, and Valentine hoped this action would be enough to snap him out of it. But when his hand wrapped around her, long nails scratched her skin. He felt hot against her, as if consumed by a fever.  
She opened her eyes. His skin was paler, the healthy sun-kissed tone replaced by an icier complexion. But his eyes were closed, and she took that as a good sign. When he pushed her against the table, hands pulling her top higher, running over her stomach, she didn't resist. Instead she pulled him closer, wrapping her legs around him. What had started out as a simple distraction ended up becoming more serious. Valentine realized it had been a very long time since she'd actually spent some time with Jak, just the two of them. And, truth be told, the current situation was a turn-on. No complaints from her side of the story.

"King Valentine, I-" Ma'al stumbled into the room without knocking.

Jak pulled away from her, observing Ma'al as if he were a threat. But the pupils were slinking back to their original size, and the grip around her waist grew more slack. Valentine was actually a tad disappointed.

"Is this a mating ritual?" Ma'al inquired innocently.

"OUT!" Jak growled at him. The Metal king looked at Valentine once before retreating, closing the door behind him softly.

Valentine sighed. "That's going to take some explaining, again."

"If you're thinking about doing that now-" Jak started, the growl still not completely having left his voice.

Valentine kissed him, short and hard. "It can wait."

"Can it? For how long?"

She pressed a few more kisses along his cheek, towards his jawline. "However long you want it to."

|The Babysitter|

"Are you sure he's up for this?" Jak asked Valentine, taking over their youngest son from her. Karim blew spit bubbles at him, pleased as always to see his father.

Valentine disappeared around a corner, her voice muffled as she replied to him. "Of course he is! He only has a bazillion kids of his own to deal with." She stuck her head around the corner, hair tousled and a tooth brush on its way to her mouth. "He'll be fine. Oh, thank you darling."

The last words were spoken to their eldest, Anke who at eight years old was quite happy in assisting her mother with anything concerning dressing up. The brush she'd carried to her mother was immediately used. Relieved of her burden she turned to her father. "I like it when uncle Ma'al comes to visit."

Jak nodded and treated the announcement with all the seriousness his daughter expected of him. He had gotten dressed far more quickly than Valentine ever managed these days. Then again, she had spent most of her free time with Damon, their middle child, fiddling with something small and incomprehensible to him. But Damon has assured him that this time nothing would explode. He wiped away a clear thread of spittle from his shirt.

"Ready!" Valentine shouted, just as someone knocked on the door.

"I'll get it!" Anke shouted, running through the apartment he and Valentine shared after ascending to the throne. Losing his father had hurt, a wound that would never fully close. He took comfort knowing that Damas has seen all three of his grandchildren before passing on. The loss was still tangible after three months, but even someone like his father could only cheat death so often.  
Tonight would be the first time they attended an official event as the rulers of Spargus. Which meant they would have to be on time, impeccable and congenial.

"I apologize for my lateness, little one," Ma'al said seriously as he entered the room.

"Don't worry, mommy and daddy are late too," Anke replied, raising her arms up to Ma'al. The Metal King obliged, picking up the young princess without even grunting.

"Consort Jak," Ma'al greeted him, stretching out a hand. Jak returned the handshake, balancing Karim in one arm for now.

Valentine appeared back from around the corner, dressed as soberly as possible in her new position. "Ma'al, good to see you, thanks for coming, we have to go now!"

Jak was caught in the whirlwind that was a harried Valentine, Karim plucked from his arms and deposited in Ma'als sure embrace next to Anke. Damon appeared from the doorway leading to the sleeping quarters, waving goodbye to his parents as he slowly walked towards Ma'al. He tried to give some last minute good advice. "Don't trust Anke when she says she can stay up past ten. Don't let Damon play with fire. Or scissors. Or anything sharp! Karim's already eaten but-"

Ma'al watched the door slam shut behind the fleeing couple and placed Anke on the ground. Her youngest brother was tugging intently at his shoulder-length hair, just bordering on painful. The Metal King regarded the two older children with an interest he hadn't exhibited for a long time. Though he saw them regularly, this was the first time he was expected to see to it they survived a night. And Valentine had tried to give him pointers, but he had found the provided manual so boring he had 'forgotten' it on a hunting trip.

"Well then…" he started, ignoring the sweaty little hands that now pressed against his cheek.

Damon regarded Ma'al intently, before sending him a message, much like Ma'als own children would have done. He had gotten more of the Metal blood than any of the other two, thanks to his mother. The message was put together well, though bearing the kind of logic that was so typical of him and Valentine. It was merely asking permission to go back to his room and finish his project. Ma'al gestured with his hand, sending back a mental agreement as well.

Anke looked sourly after her brother had left. "Mom says he should learn to ask for things out loud. She says it weirds dad out too much if we talk like that."

"I shall do my best to keep it in mind," Ma'al promised her, holding the youngest of the hatchlings away from his face. Karim, deprived of the joy of scratching along Ma'als face, immediately started to howl his displeasure.

Now this was something new. He looked around for Valentine, before realizing that his fellow King was nowhere in the vicinity. "Please refrain from this noise, young one. It's not seemly for a hatchling to-"

The crying got louder, threatening to pop an eardrum. Someone tugged on Ma'als robes, and when he looked down Anke offered him a stick with a ball on top of it. The item rattled as he picked it up, quieting the crying spell. Ma'al shook it up and down a bit more, pleased to see Karim pay full attention to it. "Is this used in teaching hatchl- children how to fetch?"

Anke giggled, shaking her head fiercely. "Of course not, uncle Ma'al. Don't worry, he'll fall asleep soon." A few seconds of silence, only broken by the sound of rattling.

"Say… uncle Ma'al… would you be interested in watching a movie with me?"

The King looked at Anke again. The young girl was twirling a dark blond curl around her finger, peering up at him from between her eyelashes. He started to make a pleasant remark when they heard something that sounded remarkably like a small explosion. He wasn't truly alarmed - who was to say what was normal in this Nest - until he could see small wafts of smoke coming from the sleeping area. Damon soon came from that direction, his eyebrows singed and slightly wafting smoke.

"I think you might need to see this," he announced both out loud and mentally.

Seconds after something small and buzzing flew over the boys head, bouncing against a wall before circling the living room. Ma'al and Karim followed it as it flew in circles, the buzzing growing more and more annoying with each passing second.

"I got it to work, but I think I connected some wires wrong," Damon explained while he scuffled his feet. It would seem that he hadn't expected this kind of failure tonight.

Ma'al found himself being handed a fly swatter by Anke. "You should probably catch it before our parents get back. Mom promised dad there wouldn't be any more experiments in the house after the espresso machine."

The King decided that later would be the best time to inform what an 'espresso' was, and why it had to be made with a machine, indoors. Instead he deposited Karim on the ground, handing the child the rattling ball on a stick, before rolling up his sleeves. Mindful of what Valentine had repeated time and again, he checked the knots keeping his robes in place. The small apparatus kept circling around, tapping against the wall, nearing the windows. When it reached the curtains, a ripping sound filled the air.

The rotating blades cleanly cut the curtains loose. From the groans Anke and her brother issued, Ma'al judged that wasn't a good thing. He leaped over the sofa, changing the groaning to cheering. But when he hit the little machine, the blades sliced through the fly swatter with screeching snags. The machine changed direction, going over his head towards the kitchen. Ma'al followed suite, leaping over the couch and then the table, his robes threatening to tangle his legs.

He followed, left and right. Somewhere underneath his feet brightly colored balls sprang and bounced, sending him face first against the dining counter. The children behind him groaned, this time as if a favorite player in a sport had been damaged. The machine was bumping up and down in a corner of the room. For how long would be anyone's guess. Ma'al soon found a glass, and filled it with water as soon as he could. Before the machine could decide to try a different escape route he flung the water in the glass at it. Upon contact it sparked, ominous whirring accompanying dark smoke clouds. It landed on the counter and in the sink, where Ma'al happily doused it with more water.

"Awww, you broke it!" Damon shouted, standing next to Ma'al to peer inside the sink. Ma'al considered he would have to find a solution to the singed eyebrows. The boy fished out the machine, holding it delicately by one of the sharp rotors. "The engine wasn't easy to find, y'know. I'll have to ask aunt Keira to send me a new one. Say, do you smell coffee?"

Ma'al took a deep sniff, and realized he did indeed smell coffee. Suspicious, he turned around. Anke and Karim were nowhere to be seen, but he did hear someone pleading very loudly to 'stop doing that'. In three great steps he was back in the living room, where Anke was desperately trying to close a cardboard box. The box was soaked through with coffee, giving easy way underneath her hands. "It wasn't me! Karim pushed the box, and I think the battery turned back on."

"Self-charging battery. Mom was actually really proud of it," Damon explained while Ma'al rushed to Anke's side.

Dark liquid gently dripped from the box, spreading over the white stone floor. Ma'al opened the box, trying to find an off-switch. "How do I turn this thing off?"

When no answer came, Ma'al glared around him. He turned around, machine in his hands. The coffee sloshed over his hands, coming from an opening at the side of the machine. It was hot, burning his hands. Ma'al decided that crude measures were better than no measures at all, and without words hurled the machine towards the balcony. The machine bounced, leaving sprinkles and dashes of coffee grit in its wake. From outside he heard a growl, and Meta looked inside to see what the worry was about. The machine fell down with much clanging. Ma'al felt a grim satisfaction at that.

"Want me to see if it's dead?" Meta inquired.

Ma'al nodded, surveying the room. There was some damage to the room, certainly, but so far he had done splendidly. He rubbed his hands together. "It was nice spending this time with you, children. I'm certain your parents will be back soon now."

"Uncle Ma'al?" Anke gently diverted his attention to the clock. "You've only been here for fifteen minutes. Can we watch a movie now?"

\----Early Morning----

"Oh Jak, I'm sure they'll be fine. They have Ma'al and Meta to look after them… say, do you smell coffee too?" Valentine kept up with Jak's firm pace despite the dress swishing about her ankles. Jak sniffed the air and assented he smelled it as well.

"Reminds me of that espresso machine you made. Which you promised you would throw away, remember?"

"I put it next to the door… oh, I'll throw it out now, as soon as Ma'al is gone. All in all, I'd say things went well. We made it through the entire evening without a single mishap."

Jak nodded, opening the door to the royal apartment. The smell of coffee, smoke and tomato sauce grew stronger in the air. Judging from the sounds, someone was listening to the weather channel. They stepped inside, following a trail of spaghetti strands and coffee grounds. With every step they took Jak's expression grew more grim, while Valentine already practiced her 'I'm sorry I though a Metal King would be qualified as a babysitter' speech.

They were met by the sight of Ma'al passed out on the sofa, surrounded by two of his charges. All three of them were wearing robes, fashioned from what Valentine thought looked a lot like her curtains. Anke was curled around a pillow, in the crook of Ma'als arm. Damon looked a tad comical, sleeping upside down with smears of spaghetti sauce around his mouth.

"Is it me, or do his eyebrows look a tad… strange?" Valentine said in a low voice.

"They look like his favorite shade of crayon," Jak replied, biting the inside of his cheek in a mixture of anger and amusement.

The picture was completed by Meta appearing from one of the bedrooms, holding Karim's diaper in her mouth, carrying the stout infant across the room. She snorted once, surveying the room, indicating she wasn't responsible for the mess.

"Do you want wake-up duty or breakfast duty?" Valentine asked, stepping out of her fancy dress shoes.

"I don't think I'm ready to see the kitchen yet. Breakfast first, yelling later," Jak grunted, rubbing his neck. He knelt, taking his youngest son from the Metal Head who sought out the cleanest spot on the carpet to take a nap herself.

"Daddy!" Karim shouted, throwing his arms around his father. Jak pressed a kiss on the forehead of his son, surveying the room. He found himself considering the following question : which was more dangerous? A Metal King trying to rip him apart, or a Metal King babysitting?

|My Best Friend|

Ma'al carefully guided Valentine to the hilltop, trying to be casual about handling her like glass. Of course she caught on, as the sharp jab between his ribs proved. With a smile he rubbed the sore spot, before they sat down on the bench. The walk here took longer every single time they made it, but the Metal King did not mind. He enjoyed the time he got to spend with Valentine.

As the years had progressed, so had the white in her hair, until now it shone in the sunlight, almost like a beacon. The wrinkles in her face had become more pronounced, showing how weathered she had become thanks to the desert. But the deepest creases, the ones near her eyes and the corners of her mouth, hadn't appeared until after Jak's death. Nobody had ever thought she'd survive the blow as well as she had. Though, as she had said, there was still a lot of work to do. Still, she hadn't been quite the same these past years.

"Care to tell me why you're looking at me like that?" she asked him, turning to face him. Ah, but those eyes had never changed. That dark blue still held the same sharpness, the same curiosity and animal ferocity they always had.

Ma'al bowed his head, his black hair fluttering in the wind. He hadn't found the energy to slick it back, and besides, it was getting too long for that either way. "Just considering, how strange your species is."

Valentine smiled, and for a moment he saw her like she had been the first time he'd seen her. "You mean, how weird the both of us are. If it hadn't been for us meeting, Spargus would never have grown like this."

He considered the city spread below them, seeing how the shapes of both his own children mingled with those they had once regarded as food. The entire city hummed with energy, Eco, and the voices of his own kind. Here and there he found an echo, one of Valentine and Jak's children who'd gotten a bit of Metal in them. Next to him he could sense the contented purr of Valentine's mind. She was barely conscious of it these days, but they were always connected. That bond had only come after Meta had succumbed to age, when Valentine had desperately needed someone to have that bond with.

"I believe I saw my first gray hair this morning," Ma'al announced, grinning for a moment.

"Can't. You still have your baby face. I'm guessing your first gray hair isn't due for at least another century, longer if you can avoid the fangirls." She teased him in good nature. At the next gust of wind she shivered. Ma'al lifted his arm, allowing her to scoot closer. When he lowered it, he could feel her bones, and the frailty of her frame. If he had known how to cry, he believed he would have done it.

"No, my friend, you still have a long way to go," She said, leaning her head against him. She way looking at a point in the center of the city. He assumed she was trying to see the statue that had been erected after the fight against Erol, all those years ago. A simple block inscribed with the names of everyone they had lost in those days. It was fitting for the Wastelanders, and quite probably impossible for Valentine to see at the moment. Valentine continued, yawning. "It makes me feel at ease, you know? At least there will be someone in Spargus who knows what's what. Though there is one decision I will always regret."

Ma'al at once shifted towards her. "You must share that decision with me, King Valentine."

She looked at him with a pokerface, every bit a dignified old lady. "I will always regret I didn't let you run around naked more. Really should've appreciated the sight when I was younger."

The upturned corner of her mouth, along with the sly twinkle in her eye, was enough to make him laugh wholeheartedly. "My fellow King, you still manage to surprise me."

"Good, shows at least my brain isn't succumbing to old age," she snipped, laughing as well. They settled down again, enjoying the silence, before she broke it once more. "I can say, without a doubt, I am honored to have known you, Ma'al."

Ma'al smiled, and felt at ease when he was allowed to take her hand in his. In this moment there was nothing else he could have wished for, not even the thrill of the hunt. Those had become less enjoyable after losing Jak anyway. He had appreciated Valentine's nest mate, though at times he had also felt a stab of jealousy. But in the end, he had prioritized the happiness of his friends. Learning how they did things had been challenging enough. Now Valentine was the only thing he had left of what he termed 'the old world'. Everything had become so new these days. New inventions, new habits, new faces. Only two months ago he'd been named godfather of one of Valentine's grandchildren.

After a few minutes he spoke again. "Anke has invited me for dinner tonight, King Valentine. She will make a fine successor, when the time comes."

When no answer came he squeezed her hand, ever so gently. She'd developed a habit of falling asleep at the most random times. "King Valentine?"

Turning, gently so as not to startle her, he managed to maneuver so her head rested against his chest. Over time he had learned how fragile she could be. Ever so slowly he moved his fingers to her jawline, across the soft flesh, to her cheekbone. His thumb passed just underneath her eye, following the scar swiping to her nose. He couldn't say why, but it felt far more intimate than the times they had knocked each other against the ground in the Arena. Back then he had never realized how easily she and hers could be hurt.

No reaction came, and his heart dropped. He realized it, in the back of his mind, where normally Valentine's presence was softly glowing. Nothing but darkness, endless and terrifying, loomed there. Still he tried to denied what had happened; for this surely couldn't have happened. Not in full daylight, with seagulls screaming in the background.

"King Valentine, I fear I do not understand this joke you are playing. Please… please explain it this instance," Ma'al started, fearing he might be right in his fears. The words felt thick and clumsy in his mouth, threatening to choke him. When she still didn't answer him, he touched her cheeks, lifting her to face him.

The smile she had so generously shared in her friendship still rested on the corners of her mouth. The wind blew through her hair and for a moment he could fool himself. Taking a deep breath he rested his forehead against hers, his gem against her skin. He closed his eyes, thinking back to their first meeting. He had been so excited back then, even if he had tried not to show it. "Do not leave me, King Valentine. I ask of you, do not leave me. That would be a most cruel punishment."

No answer came, and now he understood how she had felt, that day she had lost Jak. Only she had screamed and pleaded, threatening to harm anyone who tried to console her before breaking down in violent sobs.

This moment he allowed himself to believe that she had truly understood how much she had meant to him. She had seen him as he was, not from the beginning, but she had taken the effort to learn about him. She had learned to read him, and she had been the first. After her others had come, but nobody had been able to do it like her. The empty space where once she had been threatened to consume him.

"Val… what do you expect me to do, when my best friend is gone?"

|A New Beginning|

Ma'al watched the dawn of a new day, his robes gently swaying in the breeze. After so many decades he'd gotten used to them. Now he hardly noticed they were there, unless he got snagged behind something with them. Though these days he rarely spent his days looking humanoid, much preferring the company of his own children. He held Valentine and Jak's family close to his heart, but they perished so quickly. They burnt bright but fast, though slower than most of their kind, but always ended before he was ready to let them go. After Anke's first son had died he had begun to withdraw, only appearing on official occasions, or when there was a birth. Or when the little ones came to beg him for a story.

"King Ma'al, we were looking for you. Queen Eais has gone into labor since last night, and tradition dictates you be present for the naming ceremony." The man who appeared behind him sounded friendly, not in the least bit intimidated. And why should they be? The Metal Heads had been living with the citizens for Spargus for such a long time, there weren't even stories left to contradict this fact. Only Ma'al inspired some awe, because he was still the King that had started this co-habitation. He was the only one left from the Old World, when things had been harsher and wilder.

He nodded, sliding his hand across the bench as he followed. He could have transformed and flown over, but the women from the Mar family always took a long time to deliver a hatchling. That was one thing that still fascinated him. Nine months, give or take a few weeks, and all they had to show for it was one or two offspring at a time. The system wasn't economical at all, though given their size he supposed it could be excused.

He had even gotten used to the haphazard way people got around. Though none of them possessed enough of the mental ability to actively communicate - and hence alert him should they suddenly decide to swerve left or right - he had gotten used to reading their body language. Sometimes he would frequent the Arena, before memories of before weighed him down. Even Vin wasn't around anymore these days. One day the hologram had quietly announced it wished to be deleted, feeling it had outlived its usefulness.

Sometimes Ma'al felt like that as well, he pondered as he opened the doors to the palace. As if there was no real use for him anymore. Oh, his children still needed him, but there was nobody who could make an impression on him. Nobody he could share his thoughts with. He had tried, often. He'd built a few tentative friendships, much like the one he'd had with Warrior Sig, or even had a few romantic dalliances. But in the end he'd had lost them all, every single one. Even the Mar family. Valentine had once joked that her longevity was due to the Metal blood she'd injected herself with. It was a trait that had seemingly passed to the family.

It would seem his timing had proven impeccable. Just as he entered the small lounge where the entire family was gathered, a blood curdling scream pierced the air. It was quiet for a few moments, and then a baby started crying in the other room. Ma'al found himself surrounded by people, with hair ranging from dark to light, most of them with some shade of blue eyes. A small girl - Kiara, he thought - wobbled to him as fast as she could.

"Uncle Ma'al," she said earnestly, grabbing his robes before she could fall down. With a smile he picked her up, and was immediately hugged tightly. She was soon followed by several of her nieces and nephews, most of them preferring him over the novelty of a new addition to their family. After he had solemnly greeted every single one of them - Heere even stole two kisses on the cheek from him - he finally made his way to the bedroom, where he was greeted by an exhausted queen.

Eais greeted him with a weary smile, dark blond hair plastered to her skull. "There you are. Did you manage to fight your way through the hatchlings?"

"Only with great effort," he replied, smiling as warmly as he could. Eais was one of his favorites, because she was prepared to listen to any story he told, no matter how many times she'd heard them. Her husband made a small bow towards Ma'al, before gesturing he should turn around. Behind him a monk was waiting, face elaborately tattooed. In their hands a small bundle waited for him to take over.

"It's a girl," Eais announced from her bed, eyes still glazed over from her ordeal. It was her second child, and just like with the previous one she was determined to get back on her feet as soon as possible.

Ma'al accepted the tiny bundle, his big hands gently cradling the moving form. Memory served him to support the little head, and he grimaced when he saw the little thing. Blue and red, squished and still a tad moist, it resembled every bit a newborn Metal Head, with the disadvantage of needing several years before it could fend for itself.

"You always make that face when you see them. Did nobody ever bother teaching you tact?" Eais asked, allowing the monk to check up on her.

Ma'al grinned, and unconsciously reached out for the person who had once, in fact, attempted to teach him. His breath hitched when he actually found something there, reaching back out to him. He looked around him, to see which one of them was able to so effortlessly reach him. Had he missed anyone in the years he'd been so withdrawn? But none of the adults showed any sign of having felt him.

"I've been thinking, about the stories you told me when I was a little girl. Funny, I was so sure it would be a girl, I never bothered thinking up a name for a boy."

Ma'al glanced down and this time, straining himself, ghosted out his presence to the tiny baby in his hands. The mental energy struck back at him in full force, untamed and unsure of what to do. His hands began to shake as he realized what this could mean, as he reached out a bit firmer. The baby reached back, the energy flailing and undeniably there in a place of his mind that had been empty far too long.

"We're going to name her Valentine, after the hero you told us so much about. I always thought she sounded fantastic, and we… Ma'al, what's wrong?"

For the first time in his life, Ma'al found himself crying. Never before had he imagined being granted another chance. He shook his head, walking towards the King that had made this possible. With endless tenderness he settled newborn Valentine in her mother's arms, pressing a kiss against Eais brow.

"Thank you, King Eais. Valentine will be… simply perfect."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So uhm... throw me a kudos if you haven't already and let me know where the story could have been improved for future reference. Or let me know which parts you especially loved. If you read this as a part of self-torture, first of all please love yourself more and secondly, tell me why?
> 
> Also, to repeat :
> 
> @ReaderMaru (for Twitter)  
> aceisagoodword.wordpress.com (for my blog which is an eternal work in progress, much like my life)


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